


Forged in Blood and Water

by LaserDragon



Category: Bloodborne (Video Game)
Genre: Blood and Gore, Eldritch Horrors, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, Gay Panic, HAROLD THEY'RE LESBIANS, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Lust, Suicidal Thoughts, Typical Bloodborne stuff, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-14
Updated: 2021-02-12
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:34:53
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 23,105
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24177493
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LaserDragon/pseuds/LaserDragon
Summary: The light shining down from the large clock face covering the back wall halos the seated corpse. Alex kneels before it to find it is a lady, one that makes her cheeks burn. The lady’s outfit holds the markings of nobility while forged in the style of a hunter. The blade resting against her lap confirming the latter. Her breast stained with blood that had yet to dry. The only sound in the room being the steady drip of red from the lady’s wrist. What truly catches the hunter’s eye though is her face. In this town of death and grotesque mutations Alex never expected to think anything in it beautiful, but there is no more apt a descriptor.
Relationships: The Hunter/Lady Maria of the Astral Clocktower
Comments: 157
Kudos: 271





	1. Chapter 1

Since this hunt had begun Alex has encountered all manner of vile atrocities. Mutilated corpses strewn about like party poppers. A monster with it’s own peeled skin draped limply around it’s head like a cloak, leaving its spine and muscles completely exposed as it trudges around on all fours. A literal river of blood infested with creatures whose bellies are swollen from being stuffed too full of the red nectar. Out of all the things Alex has seen it's this damnable place takes the cake, eats it, then shits all over the floor.

Those things- those patients with their bulbous heads pulsing in a way that instills a deep seated sense of wrongness. How she can hear the liquid inside sloshing as they move about. Once she made the mistake of slashing at one of their heads, curious to see if she could fell them with a single strike. It popped like an overstuffed balloon and completely covered Alex in its “brain” juice. Oh and then there’s the _smell_. Rubbing alcohol and rot are not a pleasant combination. If it were only those things she could brush it aside as another fucked up atrocity that befell this damnable city. However there’s an underlying darkness in this place practically bursting at the seams.

For how much she may curse Yharnamits for letting their town fall as much as it has, Alex can at least concede it was a result of many poor decisions they could not anticipate the consequences of. An unfortunate side effect of tampering with a power that should never have fallen into human hands. But this? This is _intentional_. This is the result of people attempting to tame the power of the cosmos and achieved so-called enlightenment. The patients of this asylum are not patients at all, they’re guinea pigs. People who were promised a cure for the beast plague only to be injected with something far worse. That complete disregard for the sanctity of lives is what disgusts the hunter the most. 

It’s for that reason she doesn’t spend as much time as she normally would exploring every corner. Wanting to get out of here as quickly as possible. These so called secrets that are hidden here better be worth it. If not she’s going to strangle Simon the next time she sees him. The failed Great Ones are admittedly an interesting find, though she doubts they’re what he meant. Honestly Alex is more surprised she hasn’t run into more bastardized attempts at replicating the gods.

Normally when she slays a powerful entity there is a moment of quiet, for not many beasts linger where those infested by godhood rest. Yet as she stands before the door separating her from whatever secret this place hides she cannot relax. Tension coiling in her very being, a sense of foreboding creeping up her spine. Whatever lies behind this door is _dangerous_. That much Alex can say for sure. So used to encountering danger that she’s developed a second sense for it. Not that it ever helped keep her from getting ripped in half before. Instead only letting her know that that would be her fate if she continued to forge onward. Alex let out a deep sigh and let her head fall against the wood. What the hell is she getting cold feet for? It’s not like she’s never died before. Just pop in and get it over with.

The large doors are heavy, it takes all her aching strength to open them enough for her to slip through. The points of her Cainhurst gauntlets scratching against the wood as she does so. What hides within the depths of the clocktower is disappointing to say the least. Nothing but a wide open room occupied only by a chair and the corpse that’s slumped onto it. That sense of foreboding Alex had felt before vanishes with the reveal. And here she was expecting another lab or perhaps even a more monstrous experiment locked away. With nothing else to do she trudges forward to the room's sole feature.

The light shining down from the large clock face covering the back wall halos the seated corpse. Alex kneels before it to find it is a lady, one that makes her cheeks burn. The lady’s outfit holds the markings of nobility while forged in the style of a hunter. The blade resting against her lap confirming the latter. Her breast stained with blood that had yet to dry. The only sound in the room being the steady drip of red from the lady’s wrist. What truly catches the hunter’s eye though is her face. In this town of death and grotesque mutations Alex never expected to think anything in it _beautiful_ , but there is no more apt a descriptor. A chiseled face that is simultaneously handsome and delicate, framed by soft pale locks tied back in a high ponytail. 

Alex’s heart began to stutter in her chest. Wildly flailing like a chicken that had lost its head. She pounds her fist over the offending organ. Foolish, what point is there in getting so flustered over a woman that is already dead? Then again, knowing the inner workings of this place, there are surely plenty of bastards out there that wouldn’t care about that fact. Not that she is one of them. This must be the elusive “Lady Maria'' that everyone has been going on about ever since she entered this damn asylum. It turns out she didn’t abandon her patients like Alex had initially thought. Though the blood marring the lady’s breast appears recent but the hunter knows better. Normal logic doesn’t apply in Nightmares. She could very well have been sitting here dead for hundreds of years and her corpse would still look fresh.

The hunter gets back onto her feet with a grunt to observe the only other notable feature in this room. The clock face looms over her with a dark ambience despite the light shining through it. At its base flowers were meticulously placed, words carved into the wood. A memorial of sorts. Carefully tended to by the lady that now lies dead behind Alex. The hunter cannot help but avert her gaze from it. Something about it feels personal, like she was invading Lady Maria’s privacy by looking at it. Other than that there was nothing of note about the clock face. The hunter scanned the room once again only to swing her arms up in frustration.

“You said there were secrets hidden here Simon!” Alex shouted into the still air. She knows the- calling Simon a hunter feels _wrong_ somehow, but she knows of no other way to refer to him- other hunter cannot hear her. That doesn’t stop her from voicing her annoyance with him. “I don’t see jack shit!”

The urge to punch something came to mind. Preferably a creepily smug man that likes to linger in corners. She settles for stomping her foot on the ground instead, lest she disturb the sanctity of this place otherwise. To think she had sludged through this Nightmare of maddened hunters and bloodthirsty abominations for _nothing_. It’s not even like this Nightmare is tied to the waking world. As far as she can tell only the savants who had jumpstarted Yharnam’s fall and blooddrunk hunters are pulled into this place. Neither of which she frankly cares to save. Let them stew in the shitstorm they themselves have created. Even that karma feels pathetic in comparison to the monstrosities that they had unleashed.

An angry growl tore out of Alex’s throat as her feet stomped across the creaking floor. When she passed by the chair she stopped. Her attention inexplicably pulled to the dead lady. Were it not for the blood Alex could have mistakenly thought she was merely passed out instead. She looked down at the sword resting on the lady’s lap. A small, lightweight blade meant to be used with precision then brute strength. Alex has an entire collection of weapons at this point. Some gifted to her by the messengers, others looted from the corpses. All but the saw cleaver she'd started with left to collect dust in the dream. None of them fitting as comfortably in her hands as it. This sword will no doubt be the same but she may as well get _something_ out of all the trouble she’s gone through here.

The hunter stood before the dead woman, heart pounding loud between her ribs. Lady Maria looks exactly as she did when the hunter first looked upon her. Limp and motionless atop her lonely throne. There’s nothing here that should pull such a reaction out of her. Alex pounds against her stubborn chest again with a scoff. She’s spent too much time surrounded by beasts instead of people. It’s the only possible explanation she could think of. Alex shoves this string of loneliness as deep down into her consciousness that is possible. Ignoring how her ears heat up in favor of focusing on her prize instead.

Just as Alex’s fingers brush over the weapon a hand lashes out, grabbing her by the wrist and pulling her towards the apparently not actually dead lady. It’s so sudden that the hunter can do nothing but freeze. A deer caught in the torchlight that is those pale green eyes only inches away from her. Were it not for the mask covering the lower half of Alex’s face she no doubt would have felt Lady Maria’s breath against her lips. A thought that sends a trill down her spine.

“A corpse should be left well alone.” Words woven in silk break the terse silence. Spoken softly among the rotting wood and the overpowering stench of lumenflowers. 

They stay like that for a long moment, faces only a breath away from each other. Alex is trapped within the allure that is the lady’s undivided attention while Maria looks on almost expectantly. If she is expecting the hunter to say something in response then she will be disappointed. The rush of blood in Alex’s head was too great for her to hear her own thoughts, much less formulate words. The hunter only vaguely registers the fingers clasping her wrist loosening-pushing her hand away even. Alex gives in to the unspoken demand and backs away from the lady. Giving her the space she needs to lift herself off the chair.

“I know very well, how the secrets beckon ever so sweetly.” Each syllable feels like a kiss against the shell of Alex’s ear. It makes her think of stories of sirens and their enchanted voices that enthrall men to jump to their deaths.

 _It’s not secrets that are beckoning me right now._ The hunter almost responds instinctively. The only thing stopping her from doing so is how her tongue has tied itself in a knot. Excitement rolls in the pit of Alex’s stomach. Her fingers itching to grab hold of something, either her blade or the back of the lady’s neck.

“Only an honest death will cure you now.” If Lady Maria was bothered by her silence she did not show it. Towering over the much shorter hunter, a panther staring down at its prey from its perch. The clang of her weapon splitting in two the warning growl. “Liberate you from your wild curiosity.”

That… was on purpose, right? It had to be on purpose. This lady somehow read the salacious thoughts that were currently plaguing her mind and was teasing her for it. Maria’s words were far too great of a coincidence to be anything less. Alex took a step back as Maria took one forward. Both halted with bated breath, waiting to see which would make the first move.

Instinct overtook the hunter, reaching for the pistol holstered at her back. Lady Maria lunged forward upon seeing her movement. Alex managed to skitter back far enough that the blade only graved her arm. Not even feeling the shallow cut that had been inflicted on her. For the pain it brings is nothing compared to being eaten alive. With her gun in hand the hunter fires a single shot at the lady. Instead of getting hit she vanishes in a wisp of smoke. Soon reappearing a few feet away.

Alex has seen that trick used by only one other. She doesn’t have much time to dwell on it before Lady Maria quickly closes the distance between them. Fighting blooddrunk hunters is a pain enough as it is. Even in their maddened states their previous fighting instincts still remain, making them rather challenging to face. Lady Maria on the other hand doesn’t appear to have her wits dulled by the call of blood. Her eyes don’t bear their distinct glazed, unfocused look. Instead trained on the smaller hunter with a hyper focus that has Alex’s own mind becoming an incoherent blur. Each of Lady Maria’s swings a viper's sting. The hunter only managed to _just_ dodge each strike.

Another shot is fired, forcing Lady Maria back. Alex uses that chance to charge towards her instead of stumbling further back. Snapping her saw cleaver into its longer form. Like this a swing takes more buildup but this will make her reach longer then Maria’s. The sudden aggression startles the lady enough that Alex feels her blade bite into her flesh. Sinew being ripped apart under the serrated edge. She pulls back to wind up another swing only to feel a bullet tear into her knee.

Lady Maria had dropped her dagger in favor of pulling out her own pistol. The motion so sudden that Alex hadn’t even noticed until it was too late. Forced into a kneeling position, she didn’t even bother trying to fight back any further. Most of her deaths were like this- a mix of miscalculations and not knowing what her foes are capable of until after they kill her.

Instead of finishing her off quickly Lady Maria decides to take her sweet time. Sheathing her sword and retrieving her discarded dagger. Seeing the hunter’s resignation, knowing she could afford to do so without worry. Once that’s done she lifts the crippled hunter up by her collar. Easily pulling Alex up to where she could bring her lips to the younger hunter’s ear with a mere tilt of her head. The feeling of her breath against the shell of Alex’s ear making her shudder.

“May your soul be freed from this eternal curse.” The prayer spoken with a softness that makes the hunter’s heart ache. With a craving that Alex cannot name. Too distracted by the feeling of the other woman’s body pressed against her own to even try. Held in an oddly intimate embrace despite how only moments before they were trying to kill each other.

A dagger slips between Alex’s ribs, straight to her heart. Her mind slipping- pulled down into an endless sea. The water muffling everything around her. A sigh escaping the hunter’s lips as she let’s the fingers of death drag her deeper under. The cold numbing her to the point where she can’t even feel the other woman’s touch anymore. From the cracks of her fracturing mind a melancholy swells forth. Whispers from beyond calling out in a language completely alien to her. The dark slowly swallows her up. She slides down its throat with agonizing slowness. Death claiming both her body and soul. Then everything snaps, and she’s alive once again.

When the smell of rotting wood and blood gave way to the sweeter scent of flowers Alex could only stare. Her back to the ground with her head turned up to the fogged sky of the Hunter’s Dream. Sometimes the feeling of death lingered even after her body had been restored. The phantom of claws and teeth still biting into her skin. In those moments Alex needs a moment to compose herself, to give her body a chance to realize it’s not dying anymore. This isn’t one of those moments. Instead of feeling blood in her lungs she feels lead. Her lower stomach coiling not with nausea but a roaring heat. Breaths coming out in short gasps from a need she hadn’t felt since first stepping foot into Yharnam. 

Alex always knew this damn city would break her one day. Expected it even before the beasts and the repeated deaths. She just hadn’t expected it to come in the form of her getting off from dying to the hands of the most beautiful woman she’s ever seen.

…

Well shit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was a bit on the fence whether to actually post this or not because I have no idea when I'll work on it next and it was honestly kind of a spur of the moment writing with 0 plan. But fuck it, this'll probably end up being like five chapters max, if even THAT. But yeah Bloodborne is one of my favorite games of all time. My fanfic writing actually started with it but I never posted any of my attempts back then because of a mix of nervousness and a lack of interest people tend to have for Bloodborne fics in general. But I could not stay away from my desire to write them it seems. So have this little love letter to the game and more importantly a love letter to a certain lady. I'm curious what people think of my hunter here so please do tell me your thoughts on her so far! Eventually I'll write the second chapter... no promises when though!


	2. Chapter 2

Working as a hunter has the strange side effect of constantly being warm. A mix of the thick clothes they wear suffocating them in its warmth, and the heat of fresh blood and guts covering them from head to toe. That’s one thing people don’t often think about when they see corpses. The warmth of life lingers for a long time after death. Something Alex had come to learn rather quickly. When she plunges her arms into the bodies of beasts she never fails to be startled by how hot their insides feel. It’s why she started wearing gauntlets instead of gloves. That heat doesn’t pass as easily through metal as it does leather. The rest there wasn’t really anything she could do about. Not without compromising her already pisspoor defenses and her mobility.

The cool stone paths of the Hunter’s Dream against her cheeks is a welcome change. The chill of the fog coating this small island soaking into her clothes. Before Yharnam she always preferred the heat over the cold, now it’s the opposite. Creatures that would readily rip her in half don’t feel cold. A breath against her neck just before fangs tear into her flesh is humid and hot. In contrast Lady Maria’s breath tickling the shell of her ear bore a chill to it. Yeah, the cold is definitely better than the heat of desire flaring up within Alex’s core.

The hunter slams her forehead against the stone she lays on. Then does it again for good measure. The soreness it leaves behind is a wonderful reprieve from her shame. Pathetic, truly and utterly pathetic. What type of sicko wants to get railed by their killer for fucks sake? Much less when that killer is another woman. A dark chuckle escaped Alex at that thought. If the people of Yharnam hated her simply for being born outside of their walls built over the corpses of men, then she’d probably be burned at the stake for this. Regardless of her status as a hunter. Dying at the stake while an audience calls her all manner of slurs doesn’t sound very fun. Not that she’d remain dead for long anyways.

“Hunter?” A silken, monochrome voice pulls Alex out of that twisted fantasy. She lifts her head just enough to meet the statuesque face of a doll. Doll kneels before the hunter with the same level of concern as a brick wall. A few messengers peeking around her back curiously. “Are you alright?”

“M’fine.” With a groan Alex pushes herself up, dusting off her coat while she moves to stand. Offering a hand to help Doll get up to which she accepts. Not a single change in her expression.

Even before the Doll had begun to move Alex had always passively thought she was pretty. Pretty in the way that, well, a doll is. Even when Doll began to move and speak like a person this did not change. Yet as Alex looks at her now a strange sense of deja vu fills the hunter. Normally if she were to stare so openly and intensely at someone they would squirm, maybe glare at her. Doll on the other hand simply tilts her head. Not a single twitch in her muscles nor does any life shine in her eyes. It’s a jarring contrast from the pale gaze that had stared down Alex so fiercely. It doesn’t help that the two women look oddly similar. Wait a minute.

“Doll do you know a hunter named Maria?” Alex had never thought to consider if the doll was modeled after someone. She always saw her as a mere construct of the dream, a tool to help hunters retain their sanity. But if Doll was crafted in the image of a hunter… Alex doesn’t want to think about the implications of that. Especially with Gherman’s comments about “using” Doll in any way that pleases her.

“I have never met Lady Maria before but I have heard much about her. She was once Gherman’s apprentice.” That did not make Alex feel any better about this whole mess. It only gave her suspicions more credibly.

There’s an ache beginning to form in the back of Alex’s mind. The feeling of a nail being hammered into the squishy skin of her brain. That’s her cue to leave. As much as she would like to question Doll more about Maria, she would much rather not have that thing poking around in her head right now. Alex quietly thanks Doll before jogging up the path to where the messengers wait to pull her back into the nightmare. It’s only when she’s staring at the giant, mutated lumenflower that she realizes she has no idea what to do now. 

Ordinarily Alex would simply kill whatever foe she came across, no matter how many tries it took. However a hunter should only hunt beasts, lest they become beasts themselves. Maria is neither a beast nor a hunter that lost herself to bloodlust. Then there’s also the matter of Simon and the supposed secrets he believes are hidden in this place. Even specifically mentioning that they are most likely guarded by Maria. Uttering her name with the same condescending tone he had Ludwig’s. It had led Alex into expecting to find another abomination. Not a woman who just wants to be left alone. Wait, something like this had happened before.

The first time Alex had met Djura he had gunned her down with the machine gun he had set up in his tower. Constantly taunting her as she scoured through the lower levels of Yharnam. Later on after she had killed the Darkbeast she had visited his kingdom of beasts, to which they spoke civilly. Alex wouldn’t consider Djura a friend by any means but they had come to an understanding then. He only wished to guard that abandoned corner of Yharnam to assuage his guilt. To protect what he perceived as people beset by a disease. 

Lady Maria had let her freely inspect the room to her heart's content. She could have easily stood up at any moment before then. Struck the hunter down the moment Alex stepped into the room. Instead she had feigned death until Alex had tried to take her blade from her. Maybe, like with Djura, if they just talked there would be no need to spill any blood. Maybe Alex would get to hear more of her silky voice, maybe she could kiss the back of the lady’s hand as an apology.

The hunter pulled her hand back before punching herself. An attempt to scare away the warmth creeping into her cheeks. She’ll try talking to Maria. Not to satisfy her _wild curiosities_ but to try to figure out what the hell is going on here. The fact this means she’ll get to spend more time with a very pretty lady is an unintentional bonus. That’s all this is. She’s not lingering in this hell hole because of some ulterior motive. Yet no matter how many times Alex repeats that mantra in her head, it doesn’t make it sound any less like a lie.

\-----

The taste of blood filled the air. A sweet, curdling scent that lingered even after the hunter’s body had faded to nothingness. Lady Maria’s fingers twitched against the hilt of Rakuyo’s dagger. The red coating steel a thick honey compelling her to run her tongue along it’s surface. In this nightmare where she had no need for food or water or light that one, burning need still remains. The desire for that toxic liquor that had ensnared her before she could even consider it held any risks. Maria ran her thumb down the blade, the warmth of the fresh blood seeping through her gloves. It could not compare to the sensation of pressing her body against the living hunter’s.

Boots pressed against wood with far more force then needed. The door being pushed aside so harshly Maria is honestly surprised it doesn’t tear off it’s hinges. Just outside the clocktower the stench of lumenflowers hangs so thickly that it’s appalling. None of the Failed Great Ones lumber out to greet her like they normally would. Nimble fingers pluck the smaller, yet brighter lumenflowers from where they sprout. Careful to only pull the stems and not the roots. Once Maria has a decently sized bundle of them gathered in her arms she turns to go back into the clock tower. 

Yet does not take a single step towards it. In her haste to get away from the stink she had failed to notice the lantern perched just before the doorway. The empty eyes of the messengers crowded around it peering into her. The blue glow of the lantern taunting her. No matter how far Maria runs her demons always seem to catch up to her eventually. The messengers reach out to her when she passes them by and she doesn’t spar them a glance. Not stopping until she reached the base of the clock face.

Wilted flowers were brushed aside so that the freshly picked ones could take their place. Perhaps it’s arrogant of Maria to think that this simple act could be considered repentance. That doesn’t stop her from doing it. For this little tradition of hers is soothing in a way. For once she can give instead of taking away. Even if the one they are meant for will never acknowledge it.

“Lady Maria?” A meek voice that would have gone unnoticed were it not the only sound present. The hunter- the _dreamer_ stands just outside the threshold. Her arms crossed tightly over her chest, head tilted down. “I ah wanted to apologize for disturbing you.”

There’s an accent laced within her voice that Maria doesn’t recognize. While outsiders becoming hunters is not unheard of- Maria could technically be considered one herself- it is unusual. Outsiders don’t tend to stick around Yharnam long enough for that. Not unless something is preventing them from leaving. On top of that this small, timid hunter has managed to find her way here of all places. Only those who bear great regrets are dragged into the Hunter’s Nightmare. Hunters that have murdered loved ones in a maddened frenzy, scholars who threw away their humanity in pursuit of communing with the gods. Such people should not be listened to and yet Maria finds herself compelled to. She never was good at resisting her innate curiosity.

“Come here hunter.” Even from afar Maria can hear how the order makes the hunter’s pulse start to run wild. The vileblood finds herself running her tongue along the back of her teeth, feeling how sharp her canines are.

Maria half expects the hunter to turn around and flee. Instead she obeys, obediently stepping through the doorway. Stopping only a foot away from the master of this clocktower. The mask she wears hides all but her eyes, those steely blue pools churning with a slurry of emotions Maria can’t identify. Black, laxen hair settling around her shoulders, lightly curling at the tips. The hunter’s head barely reaches Maria’s shoulders. Such a small little thing that’s found her way into this mess. A tiny vole that has walked straight into a lion’s den. How tempting it is to swallow such prey whole. However luck alone is not enough to delve this deep into a Nightmare, especially one such as this. There is more to this hunter than what’s on the surface.

“This Nightmare is a purgatory for hunters who have lost their way.” Maria stepped closer to her, each step reverberating through the rotting wood beneath their feet. The hunter stands her ground. The arms around her chest tightening their grip. “How has a dreamer managed to find her way here?”

“An Amygdala dragged me in here. I couldn’t tell you why.” That got Maria to pause.

One of the Great Ones did? It had seen something within this hunter and saw fit to drag her _here_ of all places. The Great Ones ways are incomprehensible, alien to the point mortal men could never understand their ways. Maria wants to know _why_ but she never will. It’s infuriating, aggravating. It’s what drove her and many other scholars to fall as far as they had. Maria forces that query far down into the deepest abyss. There are other questions regarding this situation that she can focus on instead.

One still bound to the Dream cannot possibly be trapped in a Nightmare. If this hunter so wished she could leave at any time and return to the waking world. The fact that she is still here means there is something in this Nightmare she wants. Something that brought her back to this clocktower. Secrets that she’s trying to uncover. There is only one secret Maria knows of that could possibly lead anyone to this place. The very one she has sworn to guard. By all rights she should cut this hunter down. However death is merely an inconvenience to a dreamer.

“Amygdala may have brought you here but why do you stay? What is it you seek in this cursed place?” Play ignorant. Lead her to believe that the thing she’s looking for isn’t here.

“I don’t actually know.” The hunter shrugs like she’d simply taken a wrong turn. “I figured it couldn’t hurt to look around, and Simon made it sound like there was something important hidden here.”

“If you yourself don’t even know then return to the waking world.” Maria commits that name to memory. It seems the hunter before her doesn’t know anything concrete. The same most likely cannot be said of this Simon. “There is nothing here that could be of use to a hunter.”

The hunter says nothing in response. Silently contemplating what to do next. She pries one of her hands out of where it’s tucked under her other arm. Using it to scratch the back of her head. The hunter’s eyes narrow, her shoulders tensing. In response the grip Maria has on Rakuyo tightens. Her head suddenly snaps up to look behind the vileblood. At the clock face covering the back wall. No matter how badly Maria wants to, she refuses to do the same. Instead staring down the hunter with a thinly veiled threat. Not that she even seems to notice. Too transfixed on whatever had garnered her attention.

The hunter walks past Maria as if the vileblood isn’t even there. Placing her forehead against the clock face. The light shining through the glass is too intense for anyone to see anything but white through it. There shouldn’t be anything that gives away what hides behind it. No way for the hunter to know it's anything but a fancy decoration. Yet there is something there that she’s perceived, something that Maria herself cannot see. The hunter clutches the back of her head tighter. If the vileblood wasn’t already dead she is confident her heart would be pounding in her chest. 

“There’s a Great One on the other side of this wall.”

The only warning the hunter gets is Maria’s boots creaking against wood. She isn’t able to react quickly enough to completely avoid Rakuyo’s blade. The metal cutting into her side, spilling the red honey flowing just beneath her skin. She yelps out as she scrambles to move out of Maria’s reach. The vileblood refuses to give her the chance to retaliate. Grabbing the front of the hunter’s coat with such force they both fall. The hunter with her back to the ground and Maria on top of her.

She doesn’t know how the hunter had noticed. She doesn’t know what gave it away but it doesn’t matter. This is the one thing Maria cannot allow. Swore she would never allow again. Not while she can still fight. Maria lifts Rakuyo into the air before plunging it down towards the hunter’s head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know vilebloods aren’t vampires but goddamnit if Gascoigne can have little fangs then so can Maria! Vilebloods have fangs rights! Speaking of Maria nothing will ever convince me that that woman isn’t absolutely fucking feral by the time she ends up in the Nightmare. For christ sake she, without hesitation, STABS HERSELF to enhance her weapons with her own blood midway through the fight. Not only that she’s a vileblood, a hunter, and a yharnham scholar/doctor all at once. Each of those things by themselves is a recipe for crazy much less all of them mixed together. So yeah Feral Maria rights too.
> 
> On another note let’s talk what exactly Alex is wearing for a moment. As mentioned above she’s got the Cainhurst gauntlets, Hunter’s cap and leggings, and the Yharnham hunter garb. The Yharnam hunter set looks kinda eh on the guys but I really like the female version. Anyways hope y'all enjoyed this goodness and until next time!


	3. Chapter 3

Ever since she had first stepped through the gates of Yharnam life had become a complete shitshow for Alex. Racist bastards everywhere taunting her when all she wanted to do was see a doctor. Turned away at the gates of the “benevolent” Healing Church once they heard her foreign accent. The hunt was merely the icing on the cake. Being pinned to the ground, with a sword having been mere centimetres away from cutting open her skull, with a living- undead?- goddess of a woman on top of her isn’t exactly the worst situation she could be stuck in right now. The traitorous part of Alex’s mind even supplies that this is actually the best thing that’s happened to her tonight. She can’t even come up with a counter argument to that. She’s not been killed again and Lady Maria’s hips are pressed down against her own. This situation would even be considered pleasant if it weren’t for the cut in her side. Which is slowly oozing blood and fucking hurts!

Things were going so well at first. They were having a civil conversation when that persistent thumping started in her head again. The telltale sign of a god trying to poke around in her head. Somewhere along this cruel journey Alex found she had gained the interest of the Great Ones. Whether that was before or after she killed one of them she’s not sure. Actually that’s probably _exactly_ why they keep poking and prodding at her whenever they get the chance. Whatever their reasons those freaks have zero sense of privacy or personal space. Why that would entice Lady Maria’s wrath she doesn’t know. Unless the Great One behind the clock face _is_ the secret that Simon was talking about. The one that he claimed Lady Maria guards. Which only creates more questions than it answers if that’s the case.

One thing at a time. Right now she’s got to figure out how to sooth the pissed off vileblood before Lady Maria decides to kill her again. It’s hard to think of how to go about doing that when the woman in question is holding her down and staring at her so intensely. Alex has to actively try not to squirm from how it made her lower stomach twist. Her fingers clawing at the floor, itching to grab hold of something- anything. She wants to lift her hips up to achieve that sweet friction her body craves. She wants to slit Maria’s throat and taste the red wine that spills forth.

Bad, this is very bad. Alex takes back her earlier statement, this is the worst situation she could possibly be stuck in. Lust and bloodlust melding together in a confusing concoction. The still human side of her craving physical intimacy while the hunter within her hungers for the blood it's owed. Usually Alex considers not dying a win but this time she wishes Maria had killed her. Then at least she could have warred with her body’s annoying cravings without any temptations present to distract her. Made even worse when Maria leans down, pressing their bodies closer together. The undignified squeak that escapes the hunter thankfully goes unacknowledged.

“There is nothing here for you.” Alex clings to the venom underlying Maria’s words. Using it as a lifeline to pull herself out of the viscous slosh that is her conflicting imagination.

“Maybe if you hadn’t stabbed me I would believe you!” A small, smug spark of satisfaction streaks through the hunter upon seeing Maria jerk back from the outburst. Her carefully built composure fracturing. It only lasts for a moment.

“Leave this Nightmare and never return little hunter.” Maria quickly recovers from her shock. Not even bothering to try to contain her hostility anymore. All it succeeds in doing is egging the hunter on further.

“Make me.”

Everything comes to a complete standstill. The only sound being Alex’s labored breathing. Pale green and deep blue clashing staring each other down. Neither willing to budge an inch. The stalemate broken by a hand grasping Alex’s neck. A thumb dangerously pressing down against her throat, just hard enough to get across who holds the advantage here. Maria leans down so that their faces are only a breath apart. A tiny fragment in the back of Alex’s mind idly wishes she weren’t wearing her mask at the moment.

“Dreamers are the quickest hunters to lose themselves to arrogance. What do they have to fear when they cannot die? So easily forgetting there are fates worse than death.” Maria shifts her weight in a way that has her pressing down against Alex’s injured side. The shrapnel of pain it causes pulls a grunt out of the hunter. Otherwise she refuses to react, she’s experienced far worse than this. “I could tie you down, gag you, and leave you here to rot for all eternity.”

“Being tied up by a pretty lady isn’t much of a threat.” Alex’s mumbled words are slurred. Her mind begins to fog over while black bleeds into the edge of her vision. She hadn’t even realized she said that out loud until she felt Maria freeze above here. All the confidence Alex had managed to build up shriveling with that realization. “I uh… I’m losing a lot of blood and... yeah. Can you pretend you didn't hear that?”

Maria lifts herself up so that she’s basically sitting on the hunter’s stomach. Not a single muscle out of place as she appraises the woman beneath her. Alex is grateful for how nausea is beginning to settle in making it difficult for her mind to wonder. She tries to focus on keeping her breathing steady instead, refusing to meet Maria’s gaze. It only helps a little bit. Shame and embarrassment are a more powerful pacifier than threats. 

“You are certainly an _interesting_ one.” Maria probably meant that as an insult but Alex will count it as a victory anyways. It’s definitely a step up from being threatened with eternal imprisonment. “What is your name little hunter?”

“Alexandria- Oh dammit.” The hunter slaps her hands over her own face, muffling her groans. The blood loss must be really getting to her for her to slip like that. “ _Alex_ , my name is Alex.”

“Alex, I am not lying when I say there is nothing here of interest to a hunter.” Maria doesn’t question it and Alex is silently thankful for that. “The beasts that roam this nightmare are mere phantoms- the memories and fears of hunters given physical form. They cannot harm those of the waking world.”

“Okay yeah but… Ugh.” Alex half expects Maria to pin her arm down when she reaches for her pouches. Instead the vileblood adjusts her position so Alex can easily fetch a blood vial. The moment its contents enters her veins she feels the cut stitch close, the life that had been leaking out returning to her once again. “You could have said that without stabbing me.”

“There is nothing of interest to a hunter, but the same cannot be said of the Healing Church or Byrgenwerth.” Oh, that explains why Maria lashed out. Both factions are fanatics obsessed with the Great Ones for vastly different reasons. Most of Yharnam’s problems can be summed up as a direct consequence of this fact.

“I’d rather get eaten alive again then do anything those assholes say. Not that they’re around to give me orders anyways.” The latter half of that statement Alex more so mumbles to herself then meant it for the vileblood’s ears.

“... What do you mean by that?” It wasn’t meant for her yet she latches onto the comment nonetheless.

That’s right, if Maria had been Gehrman’s apprentice that means she’s one of the original hunters. She must have gotten trapped in this nightmare before shit really started going downhill. Knowing nothing about Yharnam’s current state. Alex isn’t exactly the best person out there to deliver such delicate news but if she doesn’t no one will. If nothing else Maria at least deserves to know what’s happened to the city she once dedicated her life to protecting.

“Well basically Yharnam is completely fucked. There’s more beasts than people, hunters are going mad left and right, for Christ sake even the Vicar turned into a giant dog right in front of me. As far as I know there are only three living, sane people left in the whole city.”

The weight on top of Alex disappears. She tries to ignore her disappointment over that, key word being tries. Maria stands before the clock face- the light shining down on her like a scenery depicted in a mural- with her lips pressed against her gloved knuckles. Alex pushes herself up to a sitting position and gets as comfortable as she can. It's a lot to take in. The hunter has never felt any particular attachment to a single place- has no place she could call home- but she does understand that suddenly being told your home is in ruins can’t be easy. Which is why Alex is perfectly content to wait. To give Maria some space while she processes everything she’s just been told.

“Tell me about the one who led you here.” Maria doesn’t turn back towards the hunter, still staring straight ahead at the clock face covering the wall.

“You mean Simon? I don’t know much about him- I don’t even know if he’s a hunter or something else.” Alex scratches the back of her neck. “The only thing I can tell you is that he’s trapped in this nightmare and that there’s something here he’s looking for.”

“The secrets that he told you are hidden here.” Of course Maria had heard her little tantrum earlier. 

“Yeah.” It’s probably not a good idea to mention that Simon may have directly told Alex to kill the woman guarding those secrets. “I think he mentioned he’s not too fond of the church so-”

“Where is he now?” Whatever Maria’s feelings were over this whole situation became masked under the gleam of a predator on the hunt. Even if Alex doesn’t answer she’ll tear the whole nightmare apart looking for him.

“Last time I saw him he was at the base of the asylum.” 

Once the words had left her mouth Maria spun on her heels and marched out the clock tower. Alex scrambled to get back on her own feet to chase after her. The hunter hasn’t decided if she likes Simon or not. What she can confidently say is that he’s not necessarily a bad person. Maybe a bit too curious for his own good, but that’s hardly something worth killing him over. Which is a sentiment that Maria doesn’t seem to share. Considering the circumstances Alex can’t really blame her. That doesn’t mean she’s just going to sit back and let her kill Simon either. Whether or not the hunter can succeed is a different matter entirely.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well what do you know, Maria didn't actually kill Alex at the end of chapter two. Thus bringing about the awkward start to their rocky friendship. Instead all of Maria's anger has now been turned on Simon. I'd say it's fair retribution cuz- for those that didn't know- originally they were thinking of making it so you could actually chose whether or not to fight Maria (instead of her playing dead she'd be sitting normally and you could talk to her) and if you chose not to fight her then Simon would've killed her anyways. Kinda like how if you leave Ludwig's severed head alone Simon would finish him off anyways. I think, this was something I heard about a long time ago so I could be misremembering some details. 
> 
> Anyways one little nitpick I have with other fics similar to this one is that they don't really feature Simon outside of mentioning him. The ones I've read at least were like that. Pretty sure Maria wouldn't ignore the fact that someone's actively poking around to uncover the things she's been guarding for god knows how long. That and I just think it'd be a fun encounter to explore the possibilities of. So until then my dear readers!


	4. Chapter 4

The smell of rubbing alcohol and lumenflowers permeates through the tower that is the asylum. A sickeningly familiar stench for those that once worked in this very same building. The Nightmare’s distorted recreation of it saw fit to add the stench of rot to the mix. The patients- the phantoms of _her_ patients turned towards Maria with their bloated heads. Sacks of liquid sloshing with even the subtlest of movements. Most watched her descend two steps at a time from the balcony of whatever floor they inhabited. A few blocked her path down the spiral staircase. When one lunged at her a growl tore through Maria’s throat. She didn’t even need to use Rakuyo to deal with them, instead shoving them over the railing. A gargled scream followed their descent before being silenced with a splat.

Footsteps higher above made Maria pause her descent. The clack of boots different from the sound of bare feet slapping against wood. Maria’s hand found its way to Rakuyo’s hilt immediately. Alex tripped in her hast to catch up to the vileblood, managing to grab the railing before she could fall face first. Upon realizing who it was Maria untangled her fingers from her sword. Continuing her path down at a slower pace. It was still fast enough that the hunter had to jog to match her speed with how Maria’s longer legs were capable of covering more ground.

“Are you going to kill Simon?” Despite the physical exertion Alex was able to keep her voice even. Accustomed to talking and running at the same time.

“That will depend entirely on him.” Maria halted once they reached the end of the stairs. A couple of floors above where she wanted to be. 

With the mechanism in the spiral staircase active the only way down to the very bottom would be to take the elevators. That means passing through Adeline’s room. Maria peaked over the railing, calculating the distance down and what such a fall could do to the human body. In the best case scenario it would only break both of their legs. It’s a good thing that she isn’t human.

“Lady Maria!?” The hunter’s indigent squeak followed her down. The impact upon landing shook every bone in Maria’s body but did no actual harm.

The patient she had thrown off the stairs was there to greet her. Their head had popped the moment they had hit the ground, leaving behind a puddle of viscous goo in its place. While the rest of its body twisted in ways that couldn’t possibly be natural. Another body atop the thousands she had left behind before it. Hardly worth sparing more than a glance. The glow of a lantern nearby is a different story entirely. Beside it a man leans against cold stone, his face obscured by a hood. The moment he notices Maria a curse is hissed out between clenched teeth. With nimble fingers Simon reaches for his bow-blade but the vileblood is faster.

Just as his fingers start to wrap around the hilt of his weapon he’s slammed back against a wall. Pining Simon’s arm between stone and his own body. His other arm grabbed by the wrist and twisted dangerously. It would be so easy to kill him. All it would take is to squeeze his neck tightly enough, to pull Rakuyo from its sheath and plunge its blade into his heart. Normally that’s exactly what Maria would do, but something makes her hesitate.

“A cute little bird told me you are interested in uncovering secrets.” Maria looms over Simon, giving the harrowed man no room to move. If he proves to be reasonable then she might let him go.

“Now, now Lady Maria. If even half the things I’ve heard about you are true then you know firsthand how deep the darkness of the Healing Church runs.” Simon’s nervousness leaks out through the tension in his muscles. Visible through how his shoulders had locked up. “I only wish to bring that darkness to light.”

“Some things are better off left to rot in the dark.” Maria’s grip is painfully tight, enough to leave behind bruises. The unspoken threat made clear.

“Why do you think this Nightmare exists? Why have so many of the Healing Church’s greatest secrets in one place?” If Simon thinks he can curry her favor by spouting philosophical nonsense then he is sorely mistaken. Her interest in the secrets of the universe have always been from a purely scientific perspective.

It’s in that moment that the hunter barges in through the archway. Alex freezes the moment she sees what is happening. She takes one step forward while reaching out before changing her mind and stepping back. Her hand stays raised grabbing at the air, eyes darting back and forth between the other two. Completely unsure of what to do. Eventually Alex hugs her own chest, needing to keep her hands occupied to stop herself from grabbing her weapons. For now deeming it best to wait and see how this plays out.

“This Nightmare is an amalgamation of all the regrets of the people trapped within it.” A fact that Maria is painfully familiar with. All her greatest sins laid bare for anyone to see. A constant reminder of all the pain she had inflicted upon others. “It just so happens that many of those regrets are the Healing Church’s secrets as well.”

“Regrets that want to be laid to rest. Hunter’s belong under the light of the moon, not trapped in a prison of their own making.” Simon growled out, he’s tired of being stuck in a swamp of blood and rot. Watching beasts wearing the mask of hunters rip each other apart with flagrant glee. A place as cursed as this should never exist. “The thing you hide is the source of this Nightmare isn’t it? So long as it remains the people here can never find peace.”

“So you claim your actions are purely out of the goodness of your heart and without an ulterior motive?” Trusting other’s motives is not something that comes easily to Maria anymore. Too many times she’s believed other’s only to realize too late what sort of monster hides beneath the facade. “You’ll have to forgive me for finding that difficult to believe.”

“In the end does that really matter when we’re both trapped in this shithole?” The harrowed man attempts to lunge forward only to be pressed further against stone. “I want to be freed from this Nightmare, and I want to ensure no one else has to suffer the same fate as Ludwig.”

“You knew him?” Alex cut out whatever response Maria would have given. She squirmed under the scrutiny of the two sets of eyes locked onto her. Pulling at the sleeves of her coat. “Before he… changed.”

The growing agitation ground to a halt. Tension cut messily in half with the two pieces unable to fit back together cleanly. Leaving behind an uncoordinated mess that left the three unsure of what to do.

“You could say we were something similar to friends.” Simon eventually answers when the silence becomes suffocating.

Maria had only met Ludwig a handful of times in passing. He certainly stood out among the other hunters. With a unique aura around him that was more reminiscent of the knights of Cainhurst that had sworn their life to protecting their queen. They may not have exactly been honorable people but Maria could at least respect them for their willingness to do anything in the name of protecting another. She had felt that same passion within Ludwig. Except in his case it blinded him to the rot that was beginning to take hold of Yharnam. She doesn’t doubt that he was a good man in his prime. However naivety is just as much of a curse as it is a blessing. It allowed others to take advantage of him. To be mutilated into the ugly beast that had rampaged in this Nightmare.

Then again Maria couldn’t exactly claim to be much different. She too had once naively believed that everything they were doing was for the good of Yharnam. That had been the intention at the start. Somewhere along the line it had stopped being about saving people and morphed into something far more sinister. She couldn’t say when exactly this change took place, or how it even happened, only that by the time she realized she already had innocent blood on her hands. The only real difference between Maria and Ludwig is that she managed to get out with her humanity still intact. 

“Regardless of your intentions curiosity is a dangerous trait.” Maria gradually loosened her grip on the harrowed man. Until she let go of Simon completely. “You would do best to realize that if you do not want to become the very thing you claim to be against.”

The comforting glow of the lamp flickered when Maria passed it. It was tempting to follow after her, but Alex decided it’d be best to give her a moment. To let the vileblood cool her head before figuring out what to do next. In the meanwhile Simon slides down the wall he had been pinned to. Letting his head fall against his knees and take a deep breath. His heart felt as though it were going to explode. At least beasts don’t leave a man wondering if they’re going to kill him or not.

“Well she’s a charming one, a girl after my heart! Literally.” Simon chuckled at his own joke. Once his nerves have somewhat calmed down he glared at the hunter. “You know she’s one of the proprietors of Yharnam’s descent into madness?”

“It’s not my business.” Alex’s arms loosened until they hung limply at her sides. She too was allowing herself to relax a little.

“Of course, as an outsider you have the luxury of keeping your hands clean of this mess.” He waved a hand between them, envious. If only he could have remained as naive as every other bloke. Maybe then he would be on his way to heaven by now instead of trapped in Hell. “We must all look like bloodthirsty brutes that are better off dead to you.”

“I think you’re both trying to help in different ways.” Alex glanced over at the patients crawling around in the poison pool. The few she encountered that still had a shred of sense left in them never spoke poorly of Maria. Instead they had all cooed about how kind she had been. That she was the only one who hadn’t abandoned them. “But this place is so fucked up that helping can look like you're trying to make things worse instead.”

Laughter bellowed out of Simon. He can’t deny the logic behind that claim but how _optimistic_ of a view that is. This girl would have been eaten alive if she had been in Yharnam during his prime. Taken advantage of and stripped down until only a hollow husk remained. Then again the fact that Alex has made it this far means she must at least have decent survival instincts. 

“Do you always put faith in others so easily?” 

“Only people that deserve it.” That naively honest answer only makes him laugh again, harder this time. He wouldn’t consider either Maria or himself deserving of faith. Not anymore.

“Go on then. It’s not polite to keep a lady waiting.” For now Simon will hang back and see how things play out. He’s not confident enough in his skills that he thinks he can take on Maria by himself. Vilebloods have nasty tricks up their sleeves. There’s a reason why the Executioners were formed specifically to hunt them. If nothing else Simon has more than enough time to wait and see what happens. The hunter doesn’t bid him a proper farewell so he doesn’t either. They’ll run into each other again sooner or later.

Alex had expected Maria to be at least halfway back to the clock tower by now. Instead she found the vileblood within the room Adeline occupies. Staring at the amorphous blob that the patient had become. From the little snippets Adeline had given the hunter of life before the nightmare the two of them were close. Should Alex… apologize? It was because of her actions that Adeline became reduced to a high as fuck blob. But at the same time the hunter had only been doing what was asked of her. Adeline does seem happier like this. Then again anything could be considered better than being stuck in a chair inside a bloody Nightmare. Oh god now Maria is staring at her. Alex can’t bring herself to meet the vileblood’s eyes.

Movement forced her to look back up. Maria had moved to stand before the elevator, waiting patiently for the younger to follow. Alex hastily went to her side. The elevators in this place are tiny. Barely big enough for four people to comfortably stand in shoulder to shoulder. Alex squeezed herself as far into a corner as she physically could. Fiddling with the tips of her gauntlets as the mechanisms start to turn. A scoff echoed from the center of the claustrophobic space. Maria stared straight ahead at nothing in particular with her knuckles covering her lips. Maybe Alex had imagined it.

The elevator stutters to a halt, Alex slips out of the metal door before it has a chance to fully open. She would take a deep breath if that wouldn’t fill her lungs with the stink of rot. There isn’t a single place in Yharnam that doesn’t reek of decay but this asylum is especially foul. The Nightmare emphasizing every horrendous little detail that could potentially make her skin crawl. Going up the spiraling staircase is far less nerve wracking than descending it had been. No more threat of having to get between two retired hunters weighing her down. Except Maria doesn’t follow after her. One hand gripping the railing as pale eyes survey the asylum in its entirety. Watching the patients stumble mindlessly between rooms.

“Do you know what this place was used for?” That silky, somber question cuts through the air. A blade digging into tarnished flesh.

There are so many snarky answers Alex could think to give. A madman’s wet dream or a cult’s pet project gone horribly wrong. An actually serious one takes a bit of actual thinking to come up with. Experiments had to have been done here. Ones that completely disregard any sense of morals. The patients with their scrawny bodies and plump heads are reminiscent of the Celestial Emissaries, the giants that had been guarding the clocktower even more so.

“It was used to study how to commune with the Great Ones, right?” Alex could so easily see this asylum being the humble start of the Choir. Before they had the backing of the Healing Church.

“Yes but that was not it’s original purpose.” Maria’s grip on the railing tightens. Frail wood creaking under her iron grasp. “Those inflicted with the beast plague were quranteened here so we might find a cure. At first we tried treating it like any other disease. When that didn’t work we moved onto more _extreme_ methods.”

Things suddenly make a lot more sense now. Not just about this asylum but Yharnam as a whole. An incurable plague that turns people into man eating monsters. A city built atop relics of ancient gods. When science failed them the people of Yharnam turned to the divine for salvation. Not realizing that those divine beings don’t have people’s best interest in mind. That merely being within their presence can completely break a person’s mind. This city was doomed from the start.

“You tried to help them.” With how many odds were stacked against them it’s safe to say nothing could have saved these people. Alex keeps that thought to herself. Some things are better left unsaid.

“Intentions mean nothing when your actions worsen the problem.” Ah, so Maria had overheard her little chat with Simon. Wood snaps, neither woman pays it any mind. “I knew nothing good comes from mortal men calling upon the aide of the gods yet we did it anyways.”

“Intentions are important.” Alex steps closer to the vileblood. Since she’s on the steps above Maria the hunter is able to stand at eye level with her. “You… you know what you did was bad. You regret it so that means you can do better next time. Not everyone can say that.”

Maria appraises the hunter not as a potential enemy but simply as a person. There’s almost a pure innocence to her that is so rare to find in adults. An optimistic light reaching out for whatever shred of good remains in others. Or maybe Maria has spent too much time around jaded men and women that are so used to seeing death they’ve come to expect it. That in itself could be why this city had fallen beyond salvation. The beast plague doesn’t just twist a person’s body but their minds as well. Amplifying their darkest, most twisted desires. Something that the people of Yharnam have in abundance. Their taste for blood proof of that. An outsider on the other hand would be void of that sort of impurity. They would not fall to temptation as easily.

As much as she hates to admit it Simon was right about one thing. Nothing will truly be solved so long as this Nightmare remains intact. Maria had been faithfully guarding the source to prevent anyone else from using it for their own selfish gains. Keeping any errant eyes from finding her greatest shame in life. She had been so determined to continue doing so only a handful of minutes before. Now Maria is just tired. How nice it would be to sleep without the wails of those she had wronged taunting her.

“I will give it to you.” Maria released her hold on the broken railing. The fractured splinters falling down into the pool below.

“W-What?” The hunter stuttered. For all her bravado she is so easily flustered. Maria would be lying if she claimed she doesn’t find it rather endearing.

“The secrets that are hidden here and the source of this Nightmare.” Those two things are one and the same. A fact that all but their guardian are unaware of. “You may do with it what you will.”

There is only one thing a hunter- a genuine hunter- would want to do with the source. Were it not for the claws of guilt dug deep into her bones Maria would have dealt with it herself. But alas, she had already tampered with it enough in the waking world. She fears she may falter if she were to face it once again. So instead Maria will do something she hasn’t done since abandoning the hunter’s oath. She will trust another- trust Alex- to take care of it in her place. That is the only thing she can do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The dialogue for this chapter was tricky but fun! Definitely had multiple versions of it that played out slightly differently. Only a little bit though. Simon is definitely an interesting character that I'm sad doesn't get used more. Some people theorize that he may have been familiar with Ludwig before shit truly started going downhill. Though what type of relationship they could have had is hard to say. Friends? Hunting partners? Something else? We'll never know for sure. But hey, that's part of the fun with the souls games. Until next time.


	5. Chapter 5

Alex will admit during her first hour as a hunter she had spent a majority of it hiding. Back then she had naively thought she could out wait the hunt from within the safety of the Hunter’s Dream. It took her awhile to realize that time doesn’t flow properly within Dreams and Nightmares, if at all. To pass the time she had dug through the many books scattered throughout the workshop. Most of them are crappy romance novels that she had balked at while reading them, the cringest easily being “How to Pick up Fair Maidens”. Mixed in with those were a few diaries of the hunters before her. It’s thanks to them that she has a pretty good idea of how Yharnam ended up in its current state. 

While back then Alex would spend what felt like hours in the dream now she only stays however long it took to finish whatever business she has there. This time that is fixing up her weapons. The teeth of her Saw Cleaver have begun to dull, if left like this soon it won’t be able to hack through flesh at all. Every time Alex approaches the weapons bench she finds her gaze firmly fixed on one of the rusted blades hanging above it. A scythe mounted to the wall. It’s long, curved blade is a sight to behold. If she squints she can just barely make out runes engraved into the metal. Alex’s fingers twitch. Some primal part of her craving to wield this rusted weapon that probably can’t even cut paper anymore.

“It’s a beauty isn’t it?” Gehrman chuckles at how the hunter jumps back. She had been so transfixed she hadn’t heard the creak of his wheelchair at all. “The Burial Blade was the first trick weapon and was crafted by the first hunter.”

Alex’s feelings on Gehrman are fairly mixed. She knows in his prime he was a well respected hunter that few spoke ill of. Now, trapped within the Hunter’s Dream, he’s just a crippled old man that occasionally offers advice to young hunters. With a few unnecessary and frankly creepy comments thrown around occasionally. She really hopes Gehrman hadn’t been the one to make Doll. If he did that adds a whole new layer of creepiness to the whole thing she’d rather not think about.

“What does it do?” Mixed feelings aside Alex had decided early on to remain civil with him. As things stand he can’t do anything anymore but flap his lips. No need to be openly hostile to an old man.

“The blade of the scythe can detach, becoming a sword instead.” Gerhman pointed to where the blade could be separated from the rest. “The handle can then be folded and strapped to a hunter’s back to free their gun hand.”

“Huh, neat. Every time I find a new trick weapon I wonder how the hell people came up with these things.” The simpler ones Alex can sorta understand, but what madman thought to take the  _ severed finger of a god _ and turn it into a club?

“I’m not sure about some but I do know Burial Blade’s story.” The keeper of the dream wheeled himself over to the pile of books. Rifling through them as he spoke. “Originally it was just a scythe however one day s beast broke the handle. Forcing the first hunter to use the blade as though it were a sword instead. When he fixed it he made the blade detachable purely for the sake of making repairs easier but eventually realized it had other uses. A scythe has long reach but is clumsy while a sword is faster and can strike more accurately. Being able to switch to whichever was better for the situation made hunting far easier.”

The teeth of the Saw Cleaver have returned to their normal sharpness. Alex flicks her chosen weapon, the motion causing the blade to flip up. The mechanics of it moving smoothly and properly locking into place. She snaps it back with the same results. Her chosen weapon is as good as new once again. With this her business here is done.

“Thanks for the history lesson.” Alex gives him a little half wave as she goes out the workshops side door. Stopping before the tombstone that’s been serving as her access point to the Nightmare. The messengers praying to it turn their heads towards the hunter, reaching out in silent greeting.

Alex gazes out into the infinite nothingness beyond this isolated island. How artificially perfect spires stretch out of the misty fog down below towards the heavens up above. A great pale moon stares down at the hunter from its perch in the cosmos. That intrusive presence Alex has been feeling more and more often absent. There’s a stillness to this place that makes her spine stand straight. Were it not for the crackle of the fireplace and the creak of Gehrman’s wheelchair the Dream would be smothered in complete silence. It’s amazing how a place that once brought comfort can become so unnerving once your perspective changes ever so slightly.

Being transported from one realm to another is an odd feeling. Like being dragged into a pool of infinite darkness that claws at her bones, whispers in a language she cannot understand being spoken directly into her ears. Then Alex pops out on the other side as though she were there the entire time. Before the clock tower alongside the giant lumenflower. Her sense going from muted to normal again is nauseating. A few deep breaths and a moment to realign herself is enough for Alex to compose herself.

Like the first time she had stepped into the clocktower Maria is seated near the back wall. Only this time the vileblood isn’t feigning death. Patiently waiting for the hunter to return from making her preparations. Standing up and dragging her chair to the side of the room when Alex enters. Wordlessly standing before the clock face with a dial in hand, one that bears runes instead of numbers. It’s hands pointed to Guidance and Beast Embrace. Maria lifts up the dial, gears churn as they begin to move for the first time in faux eternity. The clock face spins until it halts with a booming click. The path forward is now open.

“Woah. That’s cool.” Alex knew there was something behind the giant clock, she just hadn’t expected the structure to actually be a hidden door. When she peaks at the dial that acts as the key she notices its hands are now fixed on Deep Sea.

“Beyond this point is the site of the Healing Church’s greatest failure.” The dial disappears beneath Maria’s overcoat. “I have not stepped foot within the Nightmare’s twisted recreation of it so the only advice I can give is to make your way to the beach.”

“What will you do now?”

“What I have been doing up until this point.” Maria settles herself back into her chair. Looking every bit like a queen seated atop her throne with aloof grace. This dingy tower her palace. “Without its source the Nightmare will cease to exist, and everything within it will disappear.”

In other words she plans to sit here and wait for her inevitable “death”. Maria is technically already dead, her soul trapped within this hellscape. Freeing her and by extension Simon from this Nightmare would be the right thing to do. Tightness coils uncomfortably within Alex’s chest. The two of them can hardly be considered her friends, far from it. But the only other people around to keep her company are a blind and legless beggar, a nun that has an unhealthy obsession towards church hunters, and an ex-hunter that now fights to protect beasts.

“If… if you could go back to the waking world by retaking the hunter’s oath… would you?” Alex taps the tips of her her gauntlets against each other. 

“If you  _ desire  _ my company that much then my  _ previous offer _ still stands.” The vileblood practically purred, it made a wave of heat go straight down her spine.

“It’s a serious question!” The undignified squeak that was Alex’s voice choked out. Nope! She will not be distracted by the memory of Maria’s hand around her neck or the promises of being tied up. This is what she gets for opening her stupid mouth back then. 

“Is that even possible?” The dream is fickle about who it picks to receive it’s benefits, even more so in regards to when a person becomes cut off from it. With seemingly no rhyme or reason. The one thing that has always remained consistent is those who are unbound from the dream after they’ve taken the oath, then they cannot be rebound to it.

As the night had progressed and Alex had come to a realization. Magic blood may be powerful but it alone cannot bring back the dead. It shouldn’t be capable of stitching back together a body that's beyond recognition. Once she actually sat down and thought about it, the answer became so obvious. The existence of the Hunter’s Dream and the immortality of those tied to it. When she had felt those invisible tendrils invading her mind it had merely confirmed her suspicions. 

The hunter’s oath doesn’t bind people to the Dream it binds people to the Great One that dwells within the Dream. The blood echoes they collect unknowingly offered to that nameless god in return for the strength to hunt bigger, stronger prey. So yes, Alex is confident it’s possible to renew that contract after it's been broken. It’s merely a matter of convincing the Great One to rebind Maria to the Dream. Yharnam is in need of hunters now more than ever. Alex isn’t even sure there are any proper hunters left besides herself and she hasn’t been one for even half a day! 

“It can be done.” Alex will find a way to convince them If Maria is willing. Hopefully it shouldn't be too hard.

“Why do you want me to be a hunter again?” Maria stares at the small hunter long and hard. A wealth of conflicting thoughts coursing through her veins.

It occurs to Alex that her request is a purely selfish one. It’s for her own benefit and no one else’s. Maria has already done her part, her hunt has ended. Sure another hunter in Yharnam couldn’t be a bad thing but only one more couldn’t possibly save the city. She can’t get out of answering the vileblood’s question either. Alex hugs her own chest. Staring down at the grains of the floorboard.

“I don’t want to be alone anymore.” It's embarrassing to admit out loud. Alex had always told herself she was content with her nomadic life. That flitting from city to city without staying in one place long enough to get attached was for the best. The small slivers of kindness some of the people here had shown her making her realize just how lonely she really is.

Alex can feel Maria’s gaze boring into her, picking her apart layer by layer. She must look pitiful to her. A grown ass woman that is desperately seeking out the company of someone that had killed her. Maria pushes herself off of her chair, marching towards the hunter with a purpose. Alex only dares to glance up at her when she stops right before her.

“I would not be a proper lady if I left a young woman to wander through a dangerous town by herself.” Maria folds her arms behind her back. Standing tall and at attention. Alex may have been a bit preemptive in juxtapose her to a queen, right now she appears far more knightly.

“Then you mean-”

“I will think about it.” Maria eased the hunter down from her growing excitement. “Until I have come to a decision I will do my best to act as a guide.”

“This must be my lucky day then if a pretty lady is offering to be my escort.” Alex will take what she can get. A temporary partnership is better than nothing. If the vileblood does decide to reject her offer in the end then no hard feelings.

“It’s best to be careful little bird.” Maria leans down to match the hunter’s height. With a tiny quirk of her lips that reveals her fangs. “The beasts are not the only ones that bite.”

“...You win.” Alex covers her face with her hands, cheeks burning beneath her mask. Screw the beasts this lady is going to be the real death of her at this rate. A far more pleasant way to die than by the behest of man eating monsters.

“Tis a great honor to defeat a hunter.” It seems the vileblood is determined to ensure this partnership isn’t easy for Alex.

“Now you’re just teasing me.” 

“Are you regretting your request already, little bird?” If she is a bird then Maria is the cat eyeing its next meal.

“No.” If anything it's the opposite. Not that the hunter would ever admit that aloud. She’s already embarrassed herself enough as it is.

Alex doesn’t doubt for a second she can scour through the rest of this Nightmare by herself. She’s gotten this far without any assistance after all. That and if it comes down to it so long as she’s tied to the dream she can throw herself at whatever obstacle blocks her path infinitely. Having someone accompany the hunter will be a new experience. It’s actually kind of exciting. To have someone watching her back instead of having to pray she doesn’t get surrounded. Alex hops up onto the doorway. The smell of sea salt hitting her face. Invisible tendrils prodding at the edge of her consciousness. Not invasive, but curious. Alex scratches the back of her head. Time to go pay homage to the god that has made this Nightmare its home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Allow me to clarify something real quick in case this confused any of you. Yes Alex knows Gehrman was a hunter-and a highly respected one at that- but she doesn’t know he was the first hunter. With that out of the way THEY ARE FLIRTING!!!! Alex is trying her best but Maria has got a leg up on her on this one. On a more serious note the topic of MP and their role in Yharnam is an interesting one to say the least. Also Gehrman's name is spelled really goddamn weird and it keeps throwing me off every time I try to spell it. Next time we arrive at the Fishing Hamlet with all the fish people and the shark giants. Until then!


	6. Chapter 6

The last time Maria had “hunted” alongside another was the same day she had renounced her title of hunter. Between killing beasts and her assisting in research on the side she had been long since hardened to the sight of gore. Seeing a man strangled by his own entrails doesn’t make her twitch anymore. Yet what they did on that day _broke_ her. Comparatively speaking it was rather benign when pitted against the things she’s seen beasts do to a person. Their deaths had been quick, their bodies left mostly intact. It wasn’t the act itself that left her knees weak, that made her stomach feel like molten lead a moment from exploding. It was who they did it to that completely destroyed Maria.

At first it was only the sick and elderly, people that wouldn’t have lived much longer anyways. They were injected with a serum which would quietly take them in their sleep. Then once the deed was done those hungry for answers would cut off their heads so they could look inside. When none of those showed any of the signs they had been hoping for some of the more extreme scholars among their ranks grew restless. Maybe they didn’t have the signs because they were weak, they’d say. Maybe their bodies were not fit enough to receive _her_ blessings. Maria hadn’t thought much of it when those theories were first tossed around. It was a plausible explanation for their lack of any findings. She would find out how depraved men can be in their desperation for answers the next day. Men, women, not even _children_ were spared. Each head was indiscriminately split open so they could poke at their brains.

Maria wishes she could say that she had tried to stop them. In truth she had stood there frozen in place and watched. Shocked that the people she had come to trust could so easily commit such an atrocity. It was only once the deed was done that the numbness that overtook her began to crack. The smell of seasalt causes these memories to assault Maria’s mind with guilty fervor. Each time it replays is a punch in the gut.

“Byrgenwerth… Byrgenwerth…” The ghost of one of those victims stumbled towards the two women. A cloth covering his entire head and most of his body. The top of it stained red. “Blasphemous murderers. Blood-crazed fiends.” 

Alex walked backwards alongside him. Waving her hand in front of where his face should be. Maria is confident if she were to take off that cloth there would be nothing underneath. The ghost doesn’t react at all to the hunter, doesn’t acknowledge their presence at all. Continuing to slowly stumble forward in a grief fueled daze. 

“Atonement for the wretches. By the wrath of Mother Kos.” His words made Maria’s guilt pierce deeper. “Mercy for the poor, wizened child. Mercy, oh please.” The hunter tilted her head. She looked back and forth between the ghost and Maria. After a moment she shrugged before continuing down the muddy path. The ghost’s words fading behind them as they went. “Lay the curse of the blood upon them, and their children, and their children’s children, for evermore.”

Despite fully expecting it, Maria found herself startled by how different this recreation of the Fishing Hamlet is to the one she remembers. Rotted wood barely stayed standing, held afloat by the barnacles creeping up waterlogged walls. She doesn’t know how much time has passed since that day, but it definitely isn’t enough for the Hamlet to decay this much. The glow of a lamp does nothing to improve the scenery. The headless corpse hanging upside down above it goes unacknowledged. Alex lifts a foot before slamming it back down into the ankle deep water. Looking pleased with herself at the splash it makes. That childish smugness vanishing the moment she notices Maria staring at her.

“Don’t you get the urge to splash around when you step in a puddle?” The endearing shyness enveloping Alex is an oasis in this desert of bone deep regrets. One that the vileblood vehemently clings to.

“I wouldn’t exactly consider this a puddle little bird.” Maria can’t decide if she wants to laugh or hug this unusually innocent hunter. Not that she would actually do either if she could decide anyways. 

“If you’re going to give me a nickname at least pick something fitting.” Yet her words cause Alex to bristle. Embarrassment giving her the confidence to challenge the vileblood. She steps lightly around the hunter, making a point to appraise the hunter carefully before responding. 

“It’s an apt comparison, you’re quite small.” Maria places a hand upon her chin as though she were examining a set of notes. Doing her best to keep her expression completely neutral. 

“I’m not that short!” The outburst is reminiscent of a cat with it’s hackles raised. It seems she’s struck a nerve. “You and everyone else in Yharnam are freakishly tall.”

“Small and cute.” Maria has to cover her mouth to hide her mirth over the strangled sound Alex made. The vileblood wishes she could see the undoubtedly brilliant blush underneath her mask. Perhaps her mentor was right and she enjoys teasing people far too much.

Unable to form a cohesive response Alex grumbles to herself while heading down the path. Her stance became more alert with each step into this new territory. Keeping an eye out for any potential traps or ambushes. Maria trails behind her at a slight distance, she’s curious to how the hunter handles herself. Alex has to be quite skilled to have made it this far. While being a dreamer affords her more mistakes than most that alone is not enough to make it far in a hunt. Dying over and over again constantly chips away at a person’s sanity until it inevitably breaks. A true hunter has the willpower to learn from those experiences.

The first threat they encounter is _interesting_ to say the least. A humanoid creature with a hunched back. It’s head completely overgrown with barnacles. As well as what looks like some type of fin growing out of its back. Armed with a harpoon the beast charges at Alex with a garbled scream. It’s movements slow and clumsy. Any hunter worth their salt could simply side step the makeshift weapon it haphazardly plunges into the ground trying to get them. Using the time it takes for the beast to pull it back out to cleave it’s exposed back. The barnacle over the back of its neck protects the beast from a quick death. Alex doesn’t hesitate to whip her saw cleaver back and strike it again. 

“This is one ugly blighter.” The hunter rips her favored weapon out of the beast’s spine. Her nose wrinkling beneath her mask at the red-green blood that spurts out with it. “Ugh it stinks too.”

“You say that as if there exists a beast that doesn’t.” Beasts have a distinct stench clinging to them. A mix of blood, rot, and whatever ungodly substances they happen to roll around in. For this one in particular that seems to be fish.

“Doesn’t mean I can’t complain about it.” Alex kicked the corpse to the side. She’s not sure what she expected to find here but it’s still disappointingly weak. She was hoping for something that would let her show off a bit. 

The next two fishmen are disposed of equally quickly. All it takes is baiting out their attacks and crushing their spines before they can recover. This night would have been so much easier if half the beast Alex had run into were this stupid. Up ahead looks a little more complicated. An open area with several fishmen patrolling it. Alex had learned quickly not to underestimate weak beasts when there are a lot of them. A lesson that had been re-drilled into her while making her way up the Research Hall. Alex glances over at her newly acquired companion who nods. Separating her weapon into two, not wanting to waste bullets on such weak foes.

Splitting their numbers between the two of them should significantly reduce the risks. That was the plan until a threat Alex hadn’t taken into account revealed itself. The cloaked figure sitting before the well spewed out ghostly skulls. They flew towards the two women with their jaws wide open. Maria vanished in a puff of smoke before they could sink their ghastly teeth into her. She reappeared into the path of a fishman. Alex extended her Saw Blade, embedding it into the shoulder of the beast.

“Lady Maria, can you distract these blighters?” Trying to avoid the skulls and not get skewered by the half-a-dozen fishmen at the same time is a disaster waiting to happen. For Alex dying is only an annoyance, a minor setback and nothing more.

“Easily.” Maria on the other hand only has one life to spare. She’s also the more agile of the two. 

With that plan hastily conceived half-plan Alex runs past the fishmen. One attempts to chase after her only to get stabbed in the back. The barnacles keep Maria’s sword from puncturing deeply but succeeding in grabbing its attention. The priest or whatever it is hisses at the approaching hunter, sending another volley of ghastly skulls. Alex rolls under them with ease.It couldn’t prepare another attack fast enough to stop her from shoving her cleaver into its neck.

The beast tried to protect itself by stopping it with its hands. Managing to lessen how deeply the serrated blade pierces into its slimy flesh. Alex scoffs at its pitiful attempt at survival. Ripping out her weapon and its throat both. The echoes of blood soaking into her with a shuddering trill. The guttery screech of a beast rings out behind her. Maria had managed to thin the herd considerably in that short time frame. Alex shakes off that lingering high to join her. Large splashing causes the hunter to pause, glancing in the direction it's coming from.

“What the fuck!” Is what she barely has enough time to screech before a giant monstrosity leaps at Alex. Catching the hunter within it’s weirdly smooth hands. Both her arms trapped under the beast’s fingers.

The giant lifts up its catch to inspect giving Alex a close up look of the thing. A big, bulky body with its arms being oddly thin in comparison. The creature’s skin bone white. Some parts of it completely smooth, others covered in a patch of slightly darker scales. Like the fishmen barnacles bloom across the giant’s body, particularly it’s back. Tiny black eyes stare down at the hunter from a malformed head. Alex struggles as hard as she can as it begins to open it’s maw. The creature’s hot breath washes over her. Four rows of sharp teeth stretch out wide, a fat tongue lolling out with them. 

In a panic she drops her saw cleaver. Letting a cosmic energy begin to build up within her palm. A decision she made too late. The giant’s maw wraps around the hunter’s body. Back to the Hunter’s Dream it is then.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The neat thing about writing a Bloodborne fic is that it lets me notice details about some enemies I never did before. I always thought the shark giants didn’t have eyes but while looking at pictures to help me describe them I noticed they actually do. They’re just really tiny and hard to see. It’s the same with the Blood Starved Beast. I looked up pics of them for a fic that I never posted (and probably never will) and only then did I realize their “cloak” is actually their peeled off skin hanging off of them. So uh “fun” fact there. 
> 
> On another note I love how most of the "human" enemies in the game are way taller than your hunter. Meaning either A: your hunter is tiny or B they are just very tall. Both have a lot of comedic potential behind them. Anyways here we get to see Alex's personality when she's not being a total gay mess. Not only that I think Maria is the type to be pretty playful and enjoys teasing others. I mean come on, she plays dead and tries to jump scare you! And the way she pulls you up close to her... Oh jeez I think I'm making myself swoon a bit. Um... Until next time!


	7. Chapter 7

Early on during this hunt Alex had decided there’s not much that’s worse than being eaten alive. Past Alex is an idiot that has doomed present Alex through the power of jinxes. Being swallowed whole is worse. Much, _much_ worse in every possible way. The inside of the whale shark’s mouth is unbearably hot and humid. A claustrophobic sauna with the unwelcome addition of a fat tongue sliding across her face. She thinks she feels it’s teeth sink into her waist but Alex is a little too focused on trying to _breathe_ to say for sure. Too busy choking on the beast’s wretched breath filling her lungs. If this thing’s stomach acid doesn’t kill her first then suffocation definitely will.

There must be some non-eldritch god out there taking pity on her. For instead of sliding down the whale shark’s throat it violently spits Alex out. Her back squelches into the mud. She’ll take the chill of being soaked to the bone over the heat of a beast’s mouth any day. The hunter ripped off her mask to make it easier to suck in as much oxygen as she physically can.

She isn’t given much time to recover. The whale shark thrashes wildly, swinging one of it’s arms with wild abandon while the other clutches it’s head. Alex has to scramble away to avoid being caught in the crossfire of its flailing. The beast howls when an arrow pierces into its shoulder. It blindly charges in the direction it came from, slamming into the side of one of the decaying houses. Only succeeding in getting it’s head stuck into the wall instead of crushing the hunter that stands on its roof. Leaving it vulnerable for a practiced blade to pierce the whale shark’s heart. Ordinarily that would be near impossible to pull off such a large beast. With how it’s practically laying on it’s stomach and is struggling to free it’s head Maria is able to easily hop onto the creature’s back. Slipping Rakuyo’s longer blade between it’s ribs to silence it for good. The whale shark falls limp beneath her. Signifying the end to it’s brief rampage.

“Well would you look at that.” Simon leans over the edge of the roof he’s perched on. Flicking his trick weapon to shift it from a bow to a sword. “Turns out we make a pretty good team.”

Maria makes a point to ignore him. Everyone imprisoned in this Nightmare has skeletons in their closet. Without knowing what Simon’s are she can’t bring herself to trust him. Made worse by his desire to dig up the sins of the past. Instead of indulging him in idle chatter she scans the vicinity for any other threats. Seeing none Maria sheathes her weapon. Focusing her attention on the hunter currently leaning against the well. Alex’s hat had fallen off at some point and she’s completely covered in mud, blood, and saliva. Yet for how filthy she was by some miracle her face remained mostly untouched.

Then it hits Maria that the hunter is unmasked. That for the first time she’s seeing Alex’s face without anything covering it. She’s _beautiful_ , more so than the vileblood would’ve expected. Yet the thing that catches Maria’s attention the most isn’t the soft curve of her cheeks or the fullness of her lips. Rather it’s the line of miscolored skin splitting her face in two. From the hunter’s lips cutting up at a slight angle between her eyes until disappearing beneath her hairline. The fact that it's there at all means this happened before Alex became a hunter. Whether from an accident or a result of ill intent makes no difference. Such a scar is unbeffiting for someone that’s on the younger side of the scale.

Alex opens her mouth as if to respond but immediately covers it with her hand. She barely has enough time to lean over the well before she starts gagging. That stench of the beast’s mouth still stuck inside her nostrils. The only reason she isn’t straight up vomiting is because there’s nothing in her stomach for it to expel. Leaving her to hack and gag with nothing actually coming out. Which is honestly significantly worse than if Alex were to straight up vomit. At least then there’d be a sense of relief when it’s finally over. Like this there’s only the shitty feeling of her stomach uselessly contracting.

“I never want to see one of those goddamn things again.” Alex manages to choke out once her body begins to give up on ejecting anything besides saliva. 

“The hunt is rarely that kind.” Maria responds more on instinct than anything else. Still caught completely off guard by this new piece of information. 

Oblivious to her inner turmoil the hunter sits in the mud with her back against the well. Needing a moment after that whole ordeal. Both nearly getting eaten and the fact that she needed saving. It’s not necessarily that Alex is prideful- okay maybe it’s a little of that too- but rather she’s gotten used to the opposite happening. Up until now she’s been flying completely solo. Aiding whoever she ran across that needed it with _mixed_ results. To be the one being rescued this time feels strange, borderline alien even.

“Thanks for the save Simon. Being fish food is awful.” That’s not going to stop Alex from showing appreciation. Ignoring the tiny voice in the back of her head saying it’s far more complicated than that and she knows it.

“Consider it repayment for helping me get this close to the heart of the Nightmare.” The haggard man flashed her a small smile. A complete contrast to the vileblood staring blankly at her.

“Why are you looking at me like that? Is there something on my face?” Alex reaches up to touch her own cheeks but thinks better of it. Glaring at the muck coating her gauntlets and getting stuck between the joints. That’s going to be a pain to clean.

“Ah, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to stare.” Maria internally scolds herself for such a juvenile slip. She has seen far more gruesome injuries both during her time as a hunter and a doctor. A simple scar shouldn’t phase her at all at this point. “I was… caught off guard.”

“What our fair lady here is trying to say is that’s a pretty gnarly scar you’ve got.” Simon on the other hand holds no such common decency. The vileblood is half tempted to smack him over the head, or better yet stab him. The only thing that stops her is the sheer confusion on the hunter’s face.

“Scar? I don’t have a…” Alex pauses, her eyes widening with a sudden realization. Then she pulls her head back and laughs. Rubbing the tips of her filthy gauntlets over the line of miscolored skin. Leaving behind a trail of mud in its wake. “You can thank a church hunter for this.”

“You mean a sane one?” Back when Maria was still a part of the waking world it wasn’t that unusual for those under the church to throw their weight around. But this? This is beyond a man of the cloth abusing their power.

“First day in Yharnam! Just wanted to ask for some directions and he was probably the fifth guy to tell me he doesn’t talk to “stinking outsiders”.” The grin Alex gives them is borderline feral. Far prouder than it ever should be when recalling a situation where she had nearly died for real. “Told him to go suck a new one then. He didn’t like that.”

Part of Maria isn’t surprised that such an incident occurred. The treatment of foreigners was already bad during her own early days in Yharnam. She can’t imagine how much worse it had gotten since then. With tensions running so high throughout the entire city and an incurable plague taking lives left and right. People would’ve surely taken any excuse to let their frustration fly free. That doesn’t make her any less angry over this incident. Hunters are supposed to protect people yet all most of them ever seem to do is cause more harm in the end.

“That actually reminds me.” Simon cut through that train of thought. “Why did a girl like you become a hunter in the first place? Outsiders don’t typically take up the mantle without a very good reason for doing so. That or they’re fools merely doing it for the glory, but you don’t seem the type to be interested in that.”

The oddly cheerful mood Alex had been put in slowly dissipates. She lifts herself off the waterlogged ground with the aid of the well. Shaking out the tension that has started to lock up her muscles. The mask hanging around her neck is pulled back up, secured tightly around her face. Alex pats the top of her head realizing for the first time at some point her hat had fallen off. Most likely deep in the belly of the beast. By chance she glances down, spotting the ladder leading down into the well. She peers into it. Able to see that the small well opens up into a larger cave at the bottom of it.

“What do you guys think is down there?” 

“Trying to change the topic are we?” Simon was going to say more but a blade being pressed against his throat made him think better than to. Raising his hands in mock surrender to the vileblood.

“She does not have to answer anything she doesn’t want to.” Maria lowers rakuyo, having gotten her point across. She won’t deny that she’s also curious. However that is up to the hunter to divulge. “As for the well, I can confidently say our objective is not down there.”

“Yeah I figured but there could be something useful in it.” Alex has managed to find all sorts of interesting things by scouring every corner of Yharnam. Weapons, tools, and the like. Most of them collecting rust in the dream while a handful has helped her immensely. Her fingers itch at the possibilities of what goodies could be hidden around here. “I’m going down there.”

“I don’t think that’s wise.” That same sense of dread that had filled Maria upon stepping into the fishing Hamlet strikes again. The memory of when she had last stood beside this very same well replaying behind her eyes. In the present her grip on rakuyo tightens while in the past it had loosened.

“I’ll just take a quick look!” Alex begins the climb down without an ounce of hesitation. Eager to explore this place to it’s fullest despite the disdain she holds for it.

The vileblood wants to follow her but her knees lock up at the mere thought of going down there. Immovable fingers holding her in place. Maria grips rakuyo’s hilt so tightly she can feel her bones creak in protest. Small cracks form in that icy wall from the eyes boring into her. Giving Maria enough freedom to lax her grip enough that she no longer risks snapping something. Either her weapon or her fingers.

“If there is something you want to say then say it.” Maria hisses out between clenched teeth. The tips of her fangs digging into her lower lip. 

“You know what’s down there.” It’s not a question but a fact being stated. Simon doesn’t flinch at the intense glare being thrown his way, knowing it’s more frustration than genuine anger. “Not a pleasant memory I’d presume.”

“This entire Nightmare is forged from bad memories.” Frustrations that turns inward. At her constant inability to act when it’s most important. To the regrets that still have a chokehold on her.

“Of course, of course. But more so for you than anyone else.” To that the vileblood remains silent and the haggard man responds in kind. 

Beneath them Alex didn’t make it far down the ladder before pausing. Listening to the hauntingly melodic humming bouncing off jagged stone. As well as the shuffle of large feet shifting through knee deep water far too close for comfort. Carefully she shifts her weight so that she can look around without going further down. Nearly letting go of the ladder when she meets beady eyes staring straight at her. Alex places a hand over her racing heart. Not quite able to fully process what she’s looking at. 

After all how can one of those giant things be so casually hanging upside down one the ceiling of a cave? It doesn’t help that the thing she can hear moving around down below is probably another one of these things, unless there’s another type of large beast chilling around here. The humming is another bad sign as well. A promise of headaches and clawing out her own eyes in a fit of frenzy.

Alex bangs her head against a rung of the ladder. The soft wood doesn’t make it a very satisfying impact. This Nightmare is fucking with her. She shouldn’t have said anything. If she hadn’t opened her stupid mouth than these damn things wouldn’t be down here waiting for her. Then again… maybe this isn’t such a bad thing after all. The first one had caught her completely off guard. A chance to redeem herself after that terrible humiliation. That humming doesn’t sound too close either. 

Yeah, she can do this. It can’t be _that_ different from the church giants in the courtyard. As long as she’s careful and stays aware of her surroundings it should be simple. Alex slides the rest of the way down. Feet firmly planting themselves in the pile of… slugs. God why does everything in this Nightmare have to be so _gross?_ The giant up above stays perched on the ceiling. The one walking around drags an anchor behind it. That complicates matters a little bit but isn’t enough to deter her. More determined than anything else, the hunter challenges the beast. It doesn’t go as planned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alex, honey, I love you but you’re a fucking idiot. An idiot that forgot something pretty important in your haste to show off. In other news our girls have now acquired a third wheel. Simon is here to stick around for a while. Writing him and Maria going back and forth is going to be fun.
> 
> On another note since it was briefly mentioned in this chapter, how do you guys think frenzy works? In game it’s just sorta an instant burst of damage if it ticks. Works as a game mechanic but that’s no fun for a written story. Going off the name I think it’s kinda like confusion in pokemon, where you go into a maddened frenzy and just kinda hurt yourself as a result.
> 
> Oh by the way I actually have a spotify playlist for this fic. Listen to it while I'm writing sometimes. I thought it'd be fun to share and maybe y'all could give me your hot takes about which songs give you Bloodborne vibes. Take a listen at your own risk: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/467Y7vYp5KGg4HrGChWiSa
> 
> No idea why I said risk there. Until next time!


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Squeamish people be warned. This ones got a pretty gross moment.

Alex wants to die. To be more accurate she wants to die again. Maybe a third time too for good measure. Not that it matters in the end, no amount of deaths will make up for the sheer stupidity she just committed. This oh so great and wise hunter decided to go down into a den of two giant beasts without her saw cleaver. Armed with only a puny pistol Alex could do nothing but get crushed by the whale shark's makeshift weapon. Hence why she’s currently laying face down in the Dream with no intent of getting up. She had stayed there long enough for the messengers to begin placing flowers on her back. Alex thinks they’re doing it in an attempt to console her. Or at least that’s what she hopes they mean by it. The alternatives are a bit too morbid for her tastes.

As tempting as it is to lay there and stew in humiliation forever there’s work that needs to be done. Beasts that need to be hunted, gods that need to be slain. What a pain in the ass. Alex pushes herself off the ground causing the flowers to scatter around her. Now time to figure out what she’s going to do about her missing weapon. Sure she could probably just run over there and find it somewhere in the mud. However the universe or whatever has been telling her to pick something else for a while now. If the copious amount of weapons she’s managed to collect are anything to go by. 

Before that she quickly replaces her cap, the one she was wearing before is most likely in the process of being digested right now. Which Alex is definitely not even going to try to get back. As for a weapon, deciding which one to use is tricky. The bigger, heavier ones are out of the question as she doesn’t have the strength to swing them around effectively. A weapon that’s too light on the other hand won’t do much against bigger prey. In the end Alex decides to give the one she’s most recently acquired a try. The church pick is one of the simpler weapons, alternating between a short spear and a miniature scythe. If this one is no good then there are plenty of others to choose from.

After grabbing one more thing from the box and offering a brief greeting to Doll she returns to the Fishing Hamlet. Slowly meandering back to the well in a walk of shame. How much time had passed on this side is impossible to say. Whether it was a solid twenty minutes or only a few seconds Simon and Maria had patiently waited for her return.

“Welcome back to the land of the damned.” The former greets her as she drags her feet towards them. “Find anything interesting down there before keeling over?”

“Shut it, I’ll bite you.” When all bets are off Alex actually would. She’ll do every dirty trick in the book with no shame. Biting a beast however is not a good idea. Too much fur and their blood taste disgusting... Not that she's speaking from experience.

“And here I thought you were the quiet broody type when we first met.” Simon wasn’t at all intimidated by the small hunter’s remark. To him she doesn’t seem like the type to hurt a person unless it’s in self defense. 

“I wouldn’t recommend doing that. The blood of Yharnam hunters is a special kind of foul.” While Maria would like to think similarly she also knows from experience dreamers are  _ unpredictable _ at best. Especially considering this one in particular is a little bit bipolar. Her genuine advice is met with two confused pairs of eyes staring at her. A single pale eyebrow raises at their gawking. 

“How do you know what hunter blood tastes like?” Simon is the one to bite the bullet and ask. Narrowing his eyes in accusation.

“Do you really want to know?” Maria merely grins at his suspicion. Not one to miss a chance to tease others. The tips of her fangs peeking out thanks to the upturn of her lips.

It makes Alex’s heart hammer in her chest. The memory of Maria on top of her coming back with the force of a stampede. Except her imagination decides to add a bit of  _ flair _ to it. Making it so there are less clothes involved. With a hot breath against her neck and little distance between them. Alex digs the tips of her pointed gauntlets into her thighs. The sting of it helping to snap her out of those distracting thoughts. Once again she silently thanks the gods for masks being included in standard hunting gear. Otherwise her burning face would be clearly visible to her two companions.

“Calm down fangy. I’m the one doing the biting here.” Her voice cracks. It’d be more surprising if it didn’t.

“...Fangy?” Thankfully Maria is too distracted by the nickname to make note of it. Simon on the other hand eyes her suspiciously. His dry lips tilting up as it slowly clicks into place why the hunter is suddenly so twitchy.

“Alright! Time for round two.” Alex quickly turns the topic elsewhere before he can comment on it. She does not need that right now.

“Please wait a little longer. I’m so curious to see where this  _ conversation _ is going.” Silent laughter rolls through the haggard man’s shoulders. This is a turn he did not expect when he asked the hunter to help him what feels like days ago. It’s not an unwelcome one though. 

“Nope, got a couple of fish to eat and a hole to poke around in.” Alex doesn’t share his amusement. Half tempted to punch that annoying smirk off his face.

“I still don’t understand why you want to go down there.” Maria, oblivious to the unspoken words passing between the two, butts in. Even with her face contorted in disgust she’s beautiful. Painfully so.

“Instinct!” Alex has to look away before her thoughts decide to start wandering again. Damn these hormones and how easily pretty ladies make her knees feel weak.

“And for that you will keep throwing yourself down there until you succeed?”

“This time I actually have a plan.” One that if it goes well enough then Alex won’t need to lift a finger herself. Considering her track record she doubts it will go that smoothly. Nonetheless it will turn all the advantages those whale sharks have over her against themselves.

While climbing back down she pauses near the top. Checking to make sure one of them hadn’t returned to it’s perch on the ceiling. It hadn’t, in fact she could see the unarmed one mindlessly strolling in circles below. The second one hidden behind the giant pillar in the center of the circular cave. Their current separation will only make this easier. Slowly so as not to draw attention, Alex slides down to the bottom of the ladder. Squishing slugs beneath her boots to keep her landing quiet. Instead of retrieving her weapons from her back she pulls something out of the dream. A dagger carved from bone and seeped in a viscous fluid.

All it takes is a single slash against the whale shark’s spongy hide to snap it’s blade. The fragile bone blade had served it’s purpose. Successfully infecting the whale giant’s blood with it’s mind numbing poison. It swatted at whatever had pricked it’s ankle. It’s focus locking onto it’s brother. With a gargled roar it charged at it. Slamming the other whale giant against the wall with it’s whole body. Alex uses the pillar to keep herself out of sight as the anchor wielding one shoves the other off of it. Only for the smaller to charge back in, this time with it’s jaws snapping. Sinking it’s teeth into the bigger one’s shoulder and ripping out a chunk of flesh.

The bigger whale giant cries out. Putrid blood gushes out of the wound. It snaps back at the smaller. Forcing it back before swinging it’s makeshift weapon and slamming it into the other whale giant’s head. Felling it with a single hit that caves it’s skull in. So not only is that one bigger it’s much stronger as well. Not that it makes much of a difference while it’s badly injured. The whale shark turns it’s bulbous head towards the hunter. It spreads open it’s jaw, showing off row upon row of sharp teeth with a vicious howl. Despite the danger this stupid blighter still holds Alex can’t help but grin. It’s not immediately charging at her like it did the first time she went down here. Guess that means she’ll have to take the initiative this time. How the tables so easily turn.

Alex focuses on it’s exposed tendons. Ropes of muscles left completely exposed and torn apart constantly leaking sickly blood. The beast lifts it’s still functioning arm to swing it’s makeshift weapon. Intending to crush her as it did the other whale shark. However the arc of it’s swing is slower than before. Anemia noticeably dulling it’s movements enough for her to easily avoid it’s path. She moves to the beast’s injured side, shoving the tip of her pick into it’s abdomen. Using both her hands to push it as deep in as her scrawny arms will allow. The whale shark stumbles forward. Between the forward momentum of it’s swing and the weapon piercing it’s body it could not stay standing. Alex extends the handle of the pick. Using it’s alternate form to rip it out, tearing open a large gash in the process. 

The whale shark falls on it’s face with a weak growl. It attempts to get up only to slip on the flooded floor. Alex stalks towards it’s head. Raising her makeshift scythe back and slamming the tip into it’s neck. Effectively silencing the whale shark for good. The beast falls completely limp beside it’s brother. The echoes of it’s blood flow into the hunter. Making her body shake from sheer giddiness.

“Take that you ugly blighters!” Laughter bubbles out from Alex’s chest. Taking a sick pleasure into being covered in the beast's blood. The high of the kill reducing her to a giggling fit.

The hunter’s body shakes, her heart pounds loudly in her ears. Drowning out the singing that had gotten closer during the scuffle. The pounding in Alex’s ears grows deafening as red rivers of her veins congeal. The feeling of thousands of bugs digging into her skin, crawling across her bones, is a sobering one. Alex curses, stumbling over to the pillar and using it as a shield from the eyes staring into mind. She rips off her mask with one hand while the other retrieves a small bottle from the dream. The bugs move up Alex’s body and converge into her eyes. Digging deep into her cornea. Biting at the sensitive skin. Munching, eating, devouring her body from the inside out. Alex drops the bottle just as it touches her lips. Reaching up to claw at her face instead. _ Get them off! Get them off get them off GET THEM OFF- _

Something pops and everything goes dark. Alex takes deep, painful breaths. Her lungs burn with each pump of air that flows through them. Bile spits out of her mouth and nose both. The hallucination vanished yet the all too real sensation of them lingers. Slowly she pulls her fingers out of her own eye sockets. The shaking of her hands causes metal to clink against metal in a rhythmic drum. That maddening song grows fainter as the singer retreats back from whence it came.

At this point injecting herself with bloodvials has become second nature to Alex. Sometimes she doesn’t even realize she has until she feels the soreness in her body recede. The hunter blinks once, twice and her vision returns. Albeit blurred to the point of making everything nothing more than blotches of colors. Her back slides down the pillar cut into the cave. The piles of slugs squelch underneath her weight. Alex’s throat feels hoarse but she can’t recall crying out. Only the sensation of having centipedes eating away at her insides. Sometimes dying really is better than surviving. Maybe she should do herself a favor and shoot herself in the head.

There’s a splash coming from the opposite side of the pillar. Alex stands up too fast, making her already muddled head spin. The singing is still distant so it’s not the Winter Lantern. No matter her vision is still incoherent and her hands refuse to stop shaking. She’s in no condition to fight right now. Looks like the Nightmare decided to grant her mercy after all. As if she believed that. Whatever creature has come to finish her off will do so in the slowest way it possibly can. She reaches back for her gun. If she’s going to die either way it might as well be on her terms.

“Alex?” Her breath hitches in her throat. The steps she now recognizes as Maria’s move closer. The vileblood’s silhouette flits into Alex’s broken vision. Slowly she loosens the grip on her pistol.

“I’m okay.” The hunter folds her hands over her chest, forcing them still by trapping them under her arms. “Thought you didn’t want to come down here.”

Maria studies her for a long moment. Takes note of where the streaks of blood on her face are flowing down from. Glancing down to not the sedative bottle resting on a pile of slugs. The clear liquid spilled across them making their bodies glisten. She looks over to the side of the cave where a hole is cut inot it near the ceiling. The shadows hide whatever dwells within it’s depths but the faint singing coming from it tells Maria all she needs to know.

“I didn’t but the messengers were insistent. It’s the first time they've come to me for anything.” A little white lie. They had actually stopped her from going down at first. Hearing the hunter’s celebratory cry replaced by panicked rambling had set off Maria’s protective instincts to the point where she had momentarily forgotten her own anxiety. She keeps that to herself because she can see the frustration boiling inside of Alex.

Back when Byrgenwerth still stood, before the founding of the Healing Church, Maria was one of the first to take on the mantle of both a hunter and a doctor. As such her colleagues of the former role often sought her out for the latter. Their shared experiences gave them the comfort they needed to confide their woes. The confessions of the dreamers in particular come back to her now. The dreams of death that haunt them, the phantom pains that make them question if they’re actually alive or not.

During that time Maria had begun to notice a few patterns among dreamers. The most relevant now being that they’re prideful to the point of taking dying as a personal slight. Her attempts to urge them to be more careful with their lives often fell on deaf ears. It even seemed to encourage some of them to be more reckless. They’d throw themselves at beast with such freverency it brought up a few interesting questions in her mind. How does the dream decide who it takes under it’s fold? Does it intentionally seek out those who hold little value for their own lives or do they become like that as a consequence of it’s influence? It’s a topic Maria had been interested in investigating at one point. Then everything had gone wrong and those inquiries were forgotten. Whatever the answers one thing remains clear: The minds of dreamers are fragile.

“The messengers did...” Alex clicks her tongue. Glaring at nothing in particular. “Telling me to stop fooling around huh?” She mutters mostly to herself. Squinting, the hunter looks around the cave. She grumbles incoherently before turning back to the vileblood. “So uh is there anything that looks useful down here?”

“Is there something wrong with your eyes?” Maria steps closer to her. Suddenly hyper aware of the blood streaking down the hunter’s face. The sweet aroma of it filling her nostrils.

“Everything's blurry.” Less concerned by the whole thing Alex waves a hand in front of her own face. She blinks several times in hopes that might help clear up her vision with little effect. “I can kinda make out shapes but it’s all… vague.”

Maria places her index finger beneath the hunter’s chin. Silently directing her to look up. She does so without question. Allowing the taller of the two to get a better angle to do a quick check up. She leans down, bringing their faces closer together. Alex’s cheeks immediately flare up with heat. Intrusive thoughts of it being cute are pushed aside for now. The hunter’s pupils have contracted considerably but there’s nothing visibly wrong with her eyes. They’re still a vibrant shade of saphire with no signs of damage. Maria pulls away. Directing Alex to try to follow the movements of a finger by only moving her eyes. Which she does without too much issue.

“It’s possible your eyes are simply being overly sensitive.” After being mended with healing blood it can sometimes take a while for the body to realize the damage it had taken has been repaired. This is most likely one of those cases.“Give it a bit of time and it will fix itself.”

“Good to know.” Alex took off one of her gauntlets. Using her knuckles to wipe the blood off of her face. Her cheeks still flushed. “But seriously is there anything neat in here?” 

“Nothing but slugs and water I’m afraid.” Hearing Simon respond made the hunter jump a little. He had come down shortly after Maria but had remained uncharacteristically silent. Content to let the two women have their moment.

“All that for nothing!” Alex throws her hands in the air, unleashing a long groan that echoed through the small space. She let her head fall against the pillar. Letting out a defeated sigh. “Oh well, I’d rather waste my time than miss something important.”

“Shall we move back above ground then?” Maria’s anxiousness from being down here is starting to rear it’s head back now that she knows the hunter is safe. Her insides are twisting themselves into tight knots. The sooner they leave the better. “This isn’t a comfortable place to wait for your eyes to readjust.”

“Sure.” Thankfully it doesn’t take much to get Alex to agree. She unsteadily stumbles to their only exit. Glaring up at the hole as she passes under it.

While the hunter carefully works her way up the ladder Maria pauses beside it. Turning back to where the haggard man lingers. Following his gaze to the sword embedded into the ground. An exact replica of the one strapped to her hip. When he glances over to her she mouths a silent ‘thank you’. Simon waves her off, signaling for her to get a move on. He may be in the business of bringing secrets to light but he understands that some vestiges of the past are better off forgotten. The significance of the weapon in the well is for Maria alone to know. Simon leaves the real Rakuyo where it rests. Where it will be left to rot away for all eternity. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I called Simon a third wheel I was not joking. Stay strong Alex, you've got two traveling companions that will tease the crap out of you when given the chance. Speaking of last chapter someone challenged me to have her call Maria "fangy" so of course I had to. And thank you all for giving me your input on what you think frenzy is. It really helped. Though I bet you guys weren't expecting me to pull it out so soon. Going to be honest while I was writing that part it didn't really bug me at all. Then when I was spell checking and re read it it kinda got to me a little. Curse my mind and it's tendency to provide very vivid mental images.
> 
> The route I went with for the well is vastly different from what some of you were hoping for, but that little moment between them was important in establishing a bit of trust between Maria and Simon. I think if the circumstances were different they might have actually gotten along pretty well. They both just want to help people at the end of the day. Anyways hope y'all had a good Christmas and let me prematurely say happy new years! Until next time.


	9. Chapter 9

Even where the water doesn’t reach ankle deep the land of the Hamlet remains in a state of eternal dampness. A fact well known by it’s beastly inhabitants. Pale feet slip against the mud, the rank succor catching between toes. The only thing keeping the beast grounded is it’s claws which stick firmly into the moist soil. It lifts it’s head to sniff at the air. Between the scents of mist and rot a new one creeps in. Mud squelches when it’s feet bury themselves deeper. It’s stale yet does not stop from sending it’s mind into a frenzy. That sweet, delicious smell that made it _want_ with every fiber of it’s being.

With a salivating roar the beast charges towards that addicting scent. Kicking up mud behind it as it goes. It stretches open it’s jaw wide when the source of that scent filters into it’s poor vision. The beast leaps forward, intent to sink it’s fangs into soft flesh and drink the delectable liquid that hides beneath. The hunter let’s out a panicked squeak before instinctively lifting her weapon between her and the leaping beast. Unable to stop it’s trajectory the beast effectively impales itself onto her pick. It squirms helplessly, trying to free itself from the pointed weapon lodged into it’s throat. Alex keeps the thing at an arm's length, poking it’s elongated jaw with her pistol.

“Is this… supposed to be a dog?” She’s encountered her fair share of “dogs” tonight but this is by far the strangest one yet. A four legged thing with a far too big mouth and a large fin stretching down it’s back.

“So it seems.” Maria observes the unusual creature. Finding herself especially fascinated by how wide open it can stretch it’s jaws. Not that studying it would prove useful to anyone. The beast that dwell here cannot exist anywhere else. She puts the thing out of it’s misery by puncturing it’s thin skull with Rakuyo’s shorter blade. 

“It’s owner is just as ugly too.” Simon gestures to further up the forested path where another of those fishmen slowly saunter down. This one hunched over with more barnacles weighing them down. It’s a wonder it can move at all with how the growths bury into their muscles.

The beast sniffs at the air, it’s eyes completely covered by barnacles. It’s lips curl back to reveal a set of jarringly long teeth. How they all fit inside the beast’s mouth is a complete mystery. A scrawny pale arm reaches to it’s back to take one of the many harpoons strapped to it’s back. Throwing it at them with surprising accuracy for a creature with it’s eyes completely swallowed by it’s growths. The trajectory of the attack was obvious enough that avoiding it wasn’t a problem. 

Alex decides to use the time it takes for the beast to retrieve another harpoon from it’s back to shorten the distance between them. Maria has the same idea, the vileblood’s longer legs allowing her to traverse the gap faster. ~~Damn tall people with their spider legs and their lateral advantages.~~ She shoves her sword into it’s jugular with ease. The pathway begins to open up directly before them with more beast that angrily hiss at the hunters invading their territory.

While the fish-dog-things made things a bit trickier, like the previous ones they’re easy to deal with. Wait for the sluggish fishmen to strike before counterattacking before they can recover. For this village being the heart of this Nightmare the beasts inhabiting it are surprisingly weak. Honestly even the beastified townsfolk are more troublesome to deal with than these things. With how their mobility isn’t restricted at all by unnatural growths. The fishmen on the other hand are merely a matter of not standing directly in front of them. Their bodies frail enough that they go down in only two or three strikes. A task that the three accomplish in a matter of minutes. Up ahead however looks a little more complicated.

“It’s another one of those robed bastards.” Alex points to the top of a ledge straight ahead of them where it sits. The miniature cliff is steep enough that they’d have to go around to reach it. From here she can’t see what they’d have to fight through on the way.

“Doesn’t look like much but you can never be too careful when dealing with beasts. What do those types do?” Right, Simon had popped up after they had killed the first one. 

“They summon these freaky skulls that will fly towards you.” Actually now that Alex thinks about it doesn’t she have an item that can do something similar? If she does it seems like the type of thing where she’ll be cursed if she uses it. Better to be safe than sorry.

Simon lets out a thoughtful hum as he snaps his sword into it’s bow form. Notching an arrow with practiced ease and aiming carefully. The blood infused arrow hits the robed beast’s chest. It doesn’t look like a fatal injury but makes it fall onto it’s back. The whispers of blood echoes confirming the beast's death.

“There. They shouldn’t be a problem so long as we notice them first.”

“Show off.” Alex grumbles but she’s got to admit his bowblade is pretty cool. Maybe if she bugs the messengers enough they’ll give her one too. Whether she’ll actually like using it or not is a whole other matter completely.

The fishman lingering at the base of the cliff looks up where it’s comrade was. Making strange clicking sounds, calling out to the dead beast. When it gets no response it turns to where the arrow came from. It stomps a foot down and hollers at the top of it’s lungs. Before it can act upon it’s rage an anchor slams down onto it. Crushing it’s frail body into red mush. A whale shark lumbers over to the mess it had made. Poking at the remains with curious spite. 

“Another bastard appears.” Looks like Alex’s instincts were spot on. Having to avoid both the whale shark’s wild swings and the skulls would be near impossible, especially with how claustrophobic this woodland path is. She can’t use the bone blade trick again and she doubts they’ll be lucky enough to get another one stuck. “This is going to be annoying.”

“Maybe not. Let’s do a little experiment.” Maria gestures for them both to move back as the whale shark looks their way. She crouches down with her weapon held at her hip with both hands. 

The whale shark lumbers towards them, it’s massive body barely squeezing between the trees. A strong scent begins to fill the air of blood congealing in thick quantities. It gets on all fours to run towards them. Much faster like this than while standing up. It’s mouth is wide open as it charges towards them, fully intending to swallow them whole. In the blink of an eye Maria thrusts her sword forth and with it a goddamn beam of _blood_ that impales the whale shark. Splitting a hole that goes all the way from front to back. All Alex can do is stare at the beast that had been killed in a single blow. Trying not to think about what that could do to a person. No wonder the Healing Church, or rather the entirity of Yharnam was so scared of vilebloods.

“It seems you were right to curry her favor.” Simon leans towards the shorter, also finding himself unable to look away from the scene. “Do slap me if I’m going to do something that will piss her off.”

Having two other hunters(Alex uses the word hunters loosely in this context) alongside her really is convenient. This small trek would’ve undoubtedly taken her multiple tries to make by herself. If she would’ve known how much easier companionship makes things Alex would’ve begged Eileen to accompany her when she met the crow. Her throat tightens at the thought. Fingers itch to call forth the Blades of Mercy from where they languish in the dream. The crow badge sits heavy within Alex’s pocket. The hunter shakes her head in an attempt to banish the creeping memories. She can take the time to properly grieve when the sun rises over the horizon and not a moment before then.

A quick inspection of the hut atop the hill reveals an unlit lantern resting under its shade. Alex ignores it for now in favor of going to the very top. A single unmarked grave waits at the peninsula. Peering over the stone wall behind it is the ocean in all it’s glory. The thick fog limiting how far out Alex can see. She’s never actually been to the sea before. The closest she’s ever gotten is the carriage she took to get to Yharnam. Riding close enough to the coast to smell it but too far to actually see it. The sight is supposed to invigorate a sense of awe within the hunter, if other people’s experiences are anything to go by. Instead Alex just feels numb looking out on it. Knowing full well that this sea is a mere illusion. Still she pulls down her mask to feel the ocean breeze.

“It feels weird to be standing so high up and there’s no wind.” Before Alex had assumed the static air was a side effect of the geography, that the multitudes of cliffs surrounding the Hamlet were blocking them. It seems in truth it's another strange facet of this Nightmare.

“This place is a mere imitation of the waking world. Mistakes were bound to be made in its inception.” Simon joins her in surveying the scene. He looks about as uninterested in the view as she is. “It makes aiming strange when I don’t need to worry about compensating for the wind.”

“You say that but you haven’t missed a shot yet.” Alex has never tried shooting a bow before so she can’t accurately gauge how good he is at it. 

“I’ve been in here long enough to grow somewhat used to it.” He merely shrugs at the comment. Lips thinning into a fine line afterwards. “Though that’s going to make it awkward when I return to the waking world.”

“And what makes you think you can escape?” Maria hangs back a good two feet away from them. Must not be a fan of heights. 

“Why because we have a dreamer here that can freely enter and leave this place as she pleases.” Simon gestures to the hunter in question as if she’s a grand discovery he’s made.

“Uh I don’t think I can drag people with me when I move between lanterns.” Primarily because Alex can’t just go between lantern to lantern. She has to return to the Hunter’s Dream first. The master of that place doesn’t strike her as the type to enjoy visitors that it personally didn’t invite.

“Perhaps not but it proves that it is indeed possible to leave. It’s merely a matter of finding a way that we can use.” He’s got a lot of confidence for someone that’s been making another do his work for him.

Alex is pretty sure that’s not going to happen unless the Great Ones allow it. It was through them she found the Nightmares and it is because of one that she is not ensnared by them. She decides to keep that thought to herself because she hopes Simon will be able to prove her wrong. The hunter surveys the horizon, gaze being drawn to a beach. A small clearing of sand completely encircled by black cliffs. Spread out across the sand is a pale mass that she can’t quite make out the shape of. 

“What the hell is that?” Alex walks left alongside the wall to be closer to it. She leans over it without anything new being revealed from the shift in position.

“A beached whale perhaps?” Simon supplies, equally perplexed by the sight.

It could be, it’s not like Alex knows what a whale looks like. Yet her gut isn’t satisfied with that answer. It’s hard to believe that something ordinary could exist in a place so grotesqly fantastical. With a flick of her wrist a pair of binoculars manifests within her hands. Allowing her to get a more detailed look at the bulbous mass that’s just out of reach of the lapping water. It looks slimy, almost like a much bigger version of the slugs that are scattered around the Hamlet. Other than that she can’t make anything out. She’s about to give up when movement catches her attention. Alex leans dangerously over the wall to try to get a better look. A hand clutches at the back of her coat to keep her from falling. She’s too hyper fixated on what she’s looking at to register the words that are spoken.

A part of the mass convulses. Pale skin stretchering violently before settling back down. Dread curls inside of Alex’s stomach as she realizes there’s something inside the mass. Pulsing and twitching away within it’s fleshy blanket. Then it goes completely still. In that moment a shiver runs down the hunter’s spine, the feeling of being watched coiling around her. Survival instincts attempt to kick in. Telling her to run far, far away and never look back. Alex remains rooted in place. The intensity of that hidden stare rendering her completely immobile-

_She’s falling, falling evermore into an eternal abyss where the light of the moon doesn’t shine. The icy cold gnaws at her flesh and carves itself into her bones. A single sliver of light breaks through the impenetrable darkness. Growing wider and wider. But it is not the comforting glow of the moon. Instead it is the light of a giant eye opening wide. So large that it’s pupil alone is bigger than her. It stares down at the hunter that had been pulled into it’s domain. Staring, staring, and staring. Peeling back her flesh, pulling out her bones, leaving her insides to freely float within the dark. The eye stares. Picking apart every inch of the hunter. Devouring every detail it sees. The water shifts with it’s movement, arms reach out to the hunter. Long fingers coil around her body. Attempting to drag her closer to the giant eye and-_

Alex jerks away from the ledge. Her back slamming into whichever of her companions happens to be behind her. The binoculars she’d been holding are nowhere in sight, most likely lost to the watery abyss below. A constant clattering reaches her ears. But she’s far too rattled to identify it’s source. What the absolute fuck was that? She claws at her own chest just to make sure her body is still in one piece. Heart hammering wildly within her ribs. That had felt far too real to be a mere illusion. Had her soul been temporarily ripped from her body and thrown into wherever that was? Alex wouldn’t be surprised considering everything else that’s happened to her tonight.

“Alexandria.” The hunter’s back instantly becomes ramrod straight. Hearing _that_ name uttered in Maria’s low, alluring voice that’s right next to her ear filling Alex with many conflicting feelings. She wants to hear it again but oh how she despises that name.

“P-please don’t call me that.” The discomfort ends up winning out. Too much bad tainting what could’ve been a pleasant moment. 

“Sorry but you weren’t responding.” Maria puts some distance between them so their bodies aren’t pressed against one another. Circling around the hunter, fingertips just shy of cradling her cheek. “What did you see?”

“I… I’m not really sure.” The clattering slows and it’s only then that Alex realizes it’s the sound of her hands shaking. Her nerves vibration causing the metal joints of her gauntlets to clash together. She shoves them under her arms to force it to stop. “Whatever that thing down there is it’s pretty pissy.”

“Well it would be strange if Kos was happy to see a hunter.” The vileblood lowers her hand and Alex tries not to let her disappointment show.

“That is Mother Kos?” Simon had taken Alex’s position against the wall. Her discarded binoculars in his grasp. “I’ve got to say I’m a bit disappointed. I thought Great Ones were more imposing.”

“So you're volunteering to be the first one to poke her then?” The hunter pulls her mask up. Glaring at the haggard man that doesn’t seem to be affected in the same way she was.

“Sure, but only if you approach her with me.” He gives her back the binoculars which are returned to their place in the dream. 

“You both… are truly fearless aren’t you?” Maria glances between the two. Mystified by how nonchalant they’re being about the fact that they’re going to face an eldritch god.

“We wouldn’t have become hunters if we weren’t a little crazy.” Simon grins. Taking the jab as a compliment.

“S’not the first time I’ve said hi to a Great One.” It won’t be the first time Alex has killed one either. Chances are pretty good Kos is what’s dragging dead hunters into this Nightmare. If her death frees those ensnared within it’s grasp than it’s a win-win.

That mental assault she had done to Alex’s psyche is concerning. If Kos were to do that while she’s hunting her then this is going to get complicated fast. Simultaneously avoiding her physical and mental claws will be difficult. That’s a fight she’ll have to do solo. It will be easier to focus when it’s only her life that’s threatened. First they have to actually get to where Kos is. If the distance is anything to go by then they still have a long way to go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If there's on thing about Bloodborne that I'm a tad disappointed in is that they don't really use the fact that the Great One's can fuck with people's minds at all. Would it be so hard to make the player hear some freaky noises while fighting them? Or maybe give them a unique player death screen? I guess you could argue that hunters have a strong resistance to their mental assaults but that's not as fun. Anyways I'm sure you all know what's coming next chapter and it'll be great. Until next time.


End file.
